Paternal and maternal age as risk factors for schizophrenia: a case–control study

AbstractObjective: Advanced parental age might constitute a generic risk factor for mental and somatic disorders. The current study tested whether this concerns also patients with schizophrenia.Methods: A total of 231 schizophrenic, 56 other severe mental disorders patients and 204 controls were diagnosed according to DSM-IV-TR. Data were tested with ANOVA models including relative risk and odds ratios.Results: Patients with schizophrenia manifested higher paternal (32.55 ± 6.35 vs. 29.42 ± 6.07, p   .05). There seems to be a higher risk for the development of schizophrenia in offspring with paternal age above 25 years and maternal age above 22 years at delivery.Conclusions: The current study...