Demographics: In the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, the sex ratio in schizophrenia is 1.2:1, with males being affected slightly more often than females. There is a significant gender difference in average age at onset, however; the average for males is between ages 18 and 25, whereas for women there are two peaks, one between ages 25 and 35, and a second rise in incidence after age 45. About 15% of all women who develop schizophrenia are diagnosed after age 35. In some women, the first symptoms of the disorder appear postpartum (after giving birth). Many women with schizophrenia are initially misdiagnosed as having depression or bipolar disorder, because women with schizophrenia are likely to have more difficulties with emotional regulation than men with the disorder. In general, however, females have higher levels of functioning prior to symptom onset than males.
Symptoms: The symptoms of schizophrenia are divided into two major categories: positive symptoms, which are defined by DSM-IV-TR as excesses or distortions of normal mental functions; and negative symptoms, which represent a loss or reduction of normal functioning. Of the two types, the negative symptoms are more difficult to evaluate because they may be influenced by a concurrent depression or a dull and unstimulating environment, but they account for much of the morbidity (unhealthiness) associated with schizophrenia.
Causes: As of 2002, schizophrenia is considered the end result of a combination of genetic, biochemical, developmental, and environmental factors, some of which are still not completely understood. There is no known single cause of the disorder.
Treatment: Current treatment of schizophrenia focuses on symptom reduction and relapse prevention, since the causes of the disorder have not yet been clearly identified. Unfortunately, not all patients with schizophrenia receive adequate treatment. In 2000, the NIMH released the results of a large-scale community study, which indicated that fewer than half of patients with schizophrenia receive correct dosages of their medications or adequate psychosocial treatment.
Symptoms: The symptoms of schizophrenia are divided into two major categories: positive symptoms, which are defined by DSM-IV-TR as excesses or distortions of normal mental functions; and negative symptoms, which represent a loss or reduction of normal functioning. Of the two types, the negative symptoms are more difficult to evaluate because they may be influenced by a concurrent depression or a dull and unstimulating environment, but they account for much of the morbidity (unhealthiness) associated with schizophrenia.
Causes: As of 2002, schizophrenia is considered the end result of a combination of genetic, biochemical, developmental, and environmental factors, some of which are still not completely understood. There is no known single cause of the disorder.
Treatment: Current treatment of schizophrenia focuses on symptom reduction and relapse prevention, since the causes of the disorder have not yet been clearly identified. Unfortunately, not all patients with schizophrenia receive adequate treatment. In 2000, the NIMH released the results of a large-scale community study, which indicated that fewer than half of patients with schizophrenia receive correct dosages of their medications or adequate psychosocial treatment.