512209-13-2LO AID: 5766 | 6/3/2017
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Schizophrenia is known to be a neuro-psychiatric disorder. But only about 1% of the world population is victim of this disorder.
The first episodes of schizophrenia are seen in people when they are in their teens or 20s. Symptoms are known to appear at quite an early age in men as compared to women. There is no one particular known reason for schizophrenia. If one the parent is schizophrenic then there are 13% chances of the offspring to inherit the disorder. If both parents are schizophrenic then there are 39% chances of the kids developing the disorder.
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The risk factor is 3 times more if a pregnant mother has flu. About 1 person from a group of 140 people develops schizophrenia. The high risk of developing schizophrenia pertains to the age group of 45-50 and above. Instances of schizophrenia have been noticed in occupations like dry cleaning. It is also common among the people with Afro- Caribbean origin. Onset of schizophrenia is different in men and women. Among men the peak of cases are reported in the age group of 20-24. But in men after the age of 35 not many cases are reported. But in women post the age of 35 many more cases are registered.
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However, the severity of the disorder is more in males as compared to females. Women have the shielding effect of the hormone estrogen. Post menopause the levels of estrogen fall and hence more women are schizophrenic than men at a later stages of life.