Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-vvkck Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T07:04:09.741Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Why factors rooted in the family may solely explain the urban-rural differences in schizophrenia risk estimates

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 May 2011

Carsten Bøcker Pedersen  and
Preben Bo Mortensen
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Many studies have identified urban-rural differences in schizophrenia risk. The underlying cause(s) may hypothetically include toxic exposures, diet, infections, and selective migration. In a recent study, we concluded that some of the cause(s) responsible for the urban-rural differences in schizophrenia risk are rooted in families, but some might also be rooted in individuals. First, we describe temporality as a potential methodological pitfall within this line of research, then we review studies not subject to this pitfall, and finally, we describe why factors rooted in the family may solely explain the urban-rural differences. Although other potential explanations for these differences exist, we focus on this hypothesis as it has not previously been discussed in detail. To determine the cause(s) responsible for the urban-rural differences, we need direct measurements of genetic and/or environmental factors related to urban life.

Type
Editorials
Information
Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences , Volume 15 , Issue 4 , December 2006 , pp. 247 - 251
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

References

Andersen, P.K. (2004). Interaction as departure from additivity or multiplicativity. Epidemiological seminar, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Retrieved September 6, 2006, from http://phdbiostat.dk/ biostatistik/seminarer/epistat/finnd-sem.pdf.Google Scholar
Clayton, D. & McKeigue, P.M. (2001). Epidemiological methods for studying genes and environmental factors in complex diseases. Lancet 358, 1356–1360.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Danish Civil Registration Office (2005). The Civil Registration System in Denmark. The Danish Civil Registration Office. Retrieved on September 6, 2006 from www.cpr.dk/Index/dokumenter. asp?o=7&n=0&d=141&s=5.Google Scholar
Freeman, H. (1994). Schizophrenia and city residence. British Journal of Psychiatry, Suppl. 23, 39–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenland, S. (1993). Basic problems in interaction assessment. Environmental Health Perspectives 101, Suppl 4, 59–66.Google ScholarPubMed
Haukka, J., Suvisaari, J., Varilo, T. & Lonnqvist, J. (2001). Regional variation in the incidence of schizophrenia in Finland: a study of birth cohorts born from 1950 to 1969. Psychological Medicine 31, 1045–1053.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lewis, G., David, A., Andreasson, S. & Allebeck, P. (1992). Schizophrenia and city life. Lancet 340, 137–140.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Marcelis, M., Navarro-Mateu, F., Murray, R., Selten, J. P. & van Os, J. (1998). Urbanization and psychosis: a study of 1942-1978 birth cohorts in The Netherlands. Psychological Medicine 28, 871–879.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mortensen, P.B. (2000). Urban-rural differences in the risk for schizophrenia. International Journal of Mental Health 29, 101–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mortensen, P.B., Pedersen, C.B., Westergaard, T., Wohlfahrt, J., Ewald, H., Mors, O., Andersen, P.K. & Melbye, M. (1999). Effects of family history and place and season of birth on the risk of schizophrenia. New England Journal of Medicine 340, 603–608.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Munk-Jørgensen, P. & Mortensen, P. B. (1997). The Danish Psychiatric Central Register. Danish Medical Bulletin 44, 82–84.Google ScholarPubMed
Pedersen, C.B. (2006). No evidence of time trends in the urban-rural differences in schizophrenia risk among five million people born in Denmark from 1910 to 1986. Psychological Medicine 36, 211–219.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pedersen, C.B. & Mortensen, P.B. (2001a). Evidence of a Dose-response relationship between Urbanicity during Upbringing and Schizophrenia risk. Archives of General Psychiatry 58, 1039–1046.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pedersen, C.B. & Mortensen, P.B. (2001b). Family history, place and season of birth as risk factors for schizophrenia in Denmark: A replication and reanalysis. British Journal of Psychiatry 179, 46–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pedersen, C.B. & Mortensen, P. B. (2006a). Are the cause(s) responsible for urban-rural differences in schizophrenia risk rooted in families or in individuals? American Journal of Epidemiology 163, 971–978.Google ScholarPubMed
Pedersen, C.B. & Mortensen, P.B. (2006b). Urbanization and traffic related exposures as risk factors for schizophrenia. BMC Psychiatry 6, 2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pedersen, C.B., Raaschou-Nielsen, O., Hertel, O. & Mortensen, P.B. (2004). Air pollution from traffic and schizophrenia risk. Schizophrenia Research 66, 83–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pedersen, C.B., Gøtzsche, H., Møller, J.Ø. & Mortensen, P.B. (in press). The Danish Civil Registration System – A cohort of 8 million people. Danish Medical Bulletin.Google Scholar
Rothman, J.R. & Greenland, S. (1998). Causation and causal inference. In Modern Epidemiology, (ed. Rothman, J. R. and Greenland, S.), pp. 7–28. Lippincott-Raven Publishers: London.Google Scholar
Torrey, E.F., Mortensen, P.B., Pedersen, C.B., Wohlfahrt, J. & Melbye, M. (2001). Risk factors and confounders in the geographical clustering of schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Research 49, 295–299.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Os, J., Pedersen, C.B. & Mortensen, P.B. (2004). Confirmation of synergy between urbanicity and familial liability in the causation of psychosis. American Journal of Psychiatry 161, 2312–2314.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Whitfield, J.B., Zhu, G., Heath, A.C. & Martin, N.G. (2005). Choice of residential location: chance, family influences, or genes? Twin Research and Human Genetics 8, 22–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Willemsen, G., Posthuma, D. & Boomsma, D.I. (2005). Environmental factors determine where the Dutch live: results from the Netherlands twin register. Twin Research and Human Genetics 8, 312–317.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed