TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2013//
TI  - Sudden death of father or sibling in early childhood increases risk for psychotic disorder
JO  - Schizophrenia Research
A1  - Clarke, Mary C.
A1  - Tanskanen, Antti
A1  - Huttunen, Matti O.
A1  - Cannon, Mary
SP  - 363
EP  - 366
VL  - 143
IS  - 2-3
N2  - OBJECTIVE: To determine if exposure to a severe, acute stressor during early development is associated with an increased incidence of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder compared to exposure to a chronic stressor. DESIGN: We identified all those born in Helsinki between 1960 and 1990 whose father or sibling died between their conception and 5-years-of-age through linking two national registers: the Finnish Population Register and the Cause of Death Register. The reason for the death was also extracted from the Cause of Death Register. A third register, the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register, was used to determine psychiatric outcomes in adulthood. SAMPLE: 11,855 individuals whose father or sibling had died before they were 5-years-old. In total, 129 individuals had an ICD 8, 9 or 10 diagnosis of schizophrenia and 165 had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. 6136 individuals had a father or sibling who died from a sudden, external cause (e.g. accident or suicide) and 5719 individuals had father or sibling who died from a non-external, illness-associated cause. RESULTS: Sudden loss of a father or sibling led to a significantly greater risk of developing bipolar disorder or schizophrenia in adulthood compared to loss of a father or sibling from illness. These associations are independent of sex, parental history of psychiatric illness, age at exposure to loss and age at follow-up. CONCLUSION: Our findings are in keeping with accumulating evidence which indicates that exposure to stress during early development can increase the risk of psychotic illness among those exposed.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0920-9964
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2012.11.024
ID  - ref1
ER  -