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The article presents a study which examines the relationship between cannabis use and psychosis-related outcomes at a hospital in Brisbane, Queensland. It states that cannabis use among 3,801 cohort young adult participants as well as the possible factors that influence substance abuse such as parental mental illness were assessed using logistic regression analysis and sibling pair analysis. Results reveal that early cannabis use is associated with psychosis-related outcomes in young adults.

Objective: While birth cohort studies have shown that individuals who develop non-affective psychosis show subtle deviations in cognitive and behavioural developmental trajectories, there is less evidence about deviations in physical growth in these individuals. The purpose of the present study was to examine the association between behaviour and growth and maturation from infancy, through childhood and adolescence to early adulthood and the development of non-affective psychosis in young adults. Method: Based on a birth cohort of 3801 young adults, weight and length/height were examined at birth and at years 5, 14 and 21, together with pubertal maturation at year 14. Behavioural measures taken at years 5 and 14 were also examined. Screen-positive non-affective psychosis (SP-NAP) was assessed at year 21 using Composite International Diagnostic Interview, or a self-report checklist. The association between the behavioural and growth measures at birth and at years 5, 14 and 21, and SP-NAP at year 21 was examined using logistic regression. Results: There were 60 subjects in the cohort who were classified as having SP-NAP. In female subjects SP-NAP was significantly associated with being longer with a larger head circumference at birth, and less likely to be associated with being shorter at 21 years, with consistent trend associations for height between. There were no differences for weight. There was no significant association between the variables of interest in male subjects or for the total group. There was also no significant association between pubertal development at age 14 and risk of SP-NAP in either sex. Conclusions: Unlike developmental behavioural problems, which showed continuity from childhood through adolescence, SP-NAP was not associated with marked deviations in growth trajectory for male subjects, but the present data suggests that female subjects with SP-NAP had an altered skeletal growth trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Understanding the prevalence of schizophrenia has important implications for both health service planning and risk factor epidemiology. The aims of this review are to systematically identify and collate studies describing the prevalence of schizophrenia, to summarize the findings of these studies, and to explore selected factors that may influence prevalence estimates. Methods and Findings Studies with original data related to the prevalence of schizophrenia (published 1965-2002) were identified via searching electronic databases, reviewing citations, and writing to authors. These studies were divided into "core" studies, "migrant" studies, and studies based on "other special groups." Between- and within-study filters were applied in order to identify discrete prevalence estimates. Cumulative plots of prevalence estimates were made and the distributions described when the underlying estimates were sorted according to prevalence type (point, period, lifetime, and lifetime morbid risk). Based on combined prevalence estimates, the influence of selected key variables was examined (sex, urbanicity, migrant status, country economic index, and study quality). A total of 1,721 prevalence estimates from 188 studies were identified. These estimates were drawn from 46 countries, and were based on an estimated 154,140 potentially overlapping prevalent cases. We identified 132 core studies, 15 migrant studies, and 41 studies based on other special groups. The median values per 1,000 persons (10%-0% quantiles) for the distributions for point, period, lifetime, and lifetime morbid risk were 4.6 (1.9-10.0), 3.3 (1.3- 8.2), 4.0 (1.6-12.1), and 7.2 (3.1-27.1), respectively. Based on combined prevalence estimates, we found no significant difference (a) between males and females, or (b) between urban, rural, and mixed sites. The prevalence of schizophrenia in migrants was higher compared to native-born individuals: the migrant-to-native-born ratio median (10%-90% quanti... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several studies have reported alterations in finger and a-b ridge counts, and their derived measures of asymmetry, in schizophrenia compared to controls. Because ridges are fully formed by the end of the second trimester, they may provide clues to disturbed early development. The aim of this study was to assess these measures in a sample of patients with psychosis and normal controls. Methods: Individuals with psychosis (n = 240), and normal controls (n = 228) were drawn from a catchment-area case-control study. Differences in finger and a-b ridge count and Fluctuating Asymmetry were assessed in three group comparisons (non-affective psychosis versus controls; affective psychosis versus controls; non-affective psychosis versus affective psychosis). The analyses were performed separately for males and females. Results: There were no significant group differences for finger nor a-b ridge counts. While there were no group difference for Directional Asymmetry, for Fluctuating Asymmetry measures men with non-affective psychosis had significantly higher fluctuating asymmetry of the index finger ridge count (a) when compared to controls (FA-correlation score, p = 0.02), and (b) when compared to affective psychosis (adjusted FA-difference score, p = 0.04). Conclusion: Overall, measures of finger and a-b ridge counts, and their derived measures of directional and fluctuating asymmetry were not prominent features of psychosis in this sample. While directional asymmetry in cerebral morphology is reduced in schizophrenia, this is not reflected in dermatoglyphic variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the association between prenatal exposure to poliovirus infection and later development of schizophrenia or affective psychosis in a Southern Hemisphere psychiatric register. Methods: We calculated rates of poliomyelitis cases per 10 000 background population and rates for schizophrenia (n = 6078) and affective psychosis (n = 3707) per 10 000 births for the period 1930-1964. Empirically weighted regression was used to measure the association between a given psychosis birth-rate and a poliomyelitis epidemic during gestation. Results: There was no statistically significant association between exposure to a poliomy­elitis epidemic during gestation and subsequent development of schizophrenia or affective psychosis. Conclusions: The lack of a consistent statistically significant association between poliovirus epidemics and schizophrenia suggests that either poliovirus may have a small effect which is only detectable with large data-sets and/or the effect may be modified by location. Further investigation of such inconsistencies may help elucidate candidate risk-modifying factors for schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To assess quarterly fluctuations in schizophrenia births in a southern hemisphere data set, and to compare the quarterly birth distributions of patients born in the northern and southern hemisphere.Method: The month and place of birth of patients with schizophrenia (n = 9348) were extracted from a mental health register.Results: The quarterly birth distribution of patients with schizophrenia differed significantly from the estimated general population distribution in SH-born patients. The quarterly distribution of patient births differed significantly when the two hemispheres were compared.Conclusion: These data support the hypothesis that there is a risk for schizophrenia that is related to the time of birth, and which fluctuates across the year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "No association between the deficit syndrome in psychosis and summer birth in a Southern Hemisphere country," by Joy Welham, David Chant, S. Saha, and J. McGrath, that was published in the previous issue of the "Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry."

Background: There is a relative lack of information about the epidemiology of psychotic disorders in the developing world. The aim of this pragmatic study was to describe the correlates of first-episode psychosis in the central African nation of Zambia. Method: Selected clinical and demographic variables were collected on patients with psychotic disorders presenting for the first time at the only psychiatric hospital in Zambia (Chainama Hills College Hospital, Lusaka). Results: During the study period, 160 subjects were admitted to the hospital with the first episode of a psychotic disorder. The male to female sex ratio was 2.5:1, with the median age of first admission for both sexes being 26 years. Half of the subjects had a duration of untreated psychosis one month or less. Recent alcohol and other drug abuse was common in males (56%). Clinical evidence of HIV/AIDs was found in 9% of those admitted. Approximately one-third of the subjects had attended a traditional healer for their psychotic symptoms prior to admission. Conclusions: Understanding the profile of treated first-episode psychosis in the developing world can help optimize the development of local services. Furthermore, characterizing differences in the epidemiology of psychosis between populations may help generate factors that could influence its cause and course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: While the association between increased maternal age and congenital disorders has long been recognized, the offspring of older fathers are also at increased risk of congenital disorders related to DNA errors during spermatogenesis. Recent studies have drawn attention to an association between increased paternal age and increased risk of schizophrenia. The aim of the current study was to examine both paternal and maternal age as risk factors for the broader category of psychosis. Method: We used data from three sources examining psychosis: a population-based cohort study (Denmark), and two case-control studies (Sweden and Australia). Results: When controlling for the effect of maternal age, increased paternal age was significantly associated with increased risk of psychosis in the Danish and Swedish studies. The Australian study found no association between adjusted paternal age and risk of psychosis. When controlling for the effect of paternal age, younger maternal age was associated with an increased risk of psychoses in the Danish study alone. Conclusions: The offspring of older fathers are at increased risk of developing psychosis. The role of paternally derived mutations and/or psychosocial factors associated with older paternal age warrants further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]