[Possible implication of obstetric risk factors in the etiopathogenesis of schizophrenia].

Abstract

Neuroradiologic and neuropathologic studies have revealed evidence of the existence of structural brain damage in schizophrenics, the ethiopathogenesis of which could include early neurodevelopmental disturbances. Exposure to obstetric complications could be an environmental risk factor predisposing to the later occurrence of schizophrenic disorder in adolescence. The majority of studies evaluating such an association have found an excess of obstetric complications in schizophrenia patients, tough without revealing the existence of a preferential link with a specific type of complications. These interpretation of these results in terms of cause-and-effect must remain cautious, because of the methodological limitations of the studies.