How Does Schizophrenia Affect Women

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While depression is often referred to by mental health professionals as the “common cold” of mental illness, schizophrenia is considered the “cancer”. This is because it is probably the most serious and debilitating psychiatric disorder that exists. Just over one out of every 100 people aged 18 or older has schizophrenia in the U.S. That’s nearly two and a half million Americans. Unlike depression and anxiety, which sometimes occur only during a short period of a person’s life, schizophrenia is a lifelong disorder. And at this time, there is no known cure. The symptoms of schizophrenia typically first appear in a person’s late teens or early twenties, although they can begin at any age. Generally speaking, males exhibit the first signs of…show more content…
For example, some of the well known facts are that schizophrenia tends to begin in men/boys at an earlier age than women/girls; men who have schizophrenia generally begin showing signs of the illness between ages 15 and 20, compared to ages 20 to 25 for women. Additionally, men overall are less responsive to medication and schizophrenia also tends to have a larger impact on men than on women - the long term outcome tends to be worse for men than women. Researchers have hypothesized that estrogen may play a protective role in women against schizophrenia. Recent research also tends to suggest that schizophrenia is more prevalent in men than women - with women developing schizophrenia at a rate of approximately 50% to 75% that of men, overall. Women, however, have a rate of developing schizophrenia almost twice that of men for people over the age of 45 years. Again, a protective effect of estrogen may be involved here, researchers suggest. Following are some stories and resources on the differences of schizophrenia's impact in men and women. As this is a relatively new area of research, we'll be adding more information here in the…show more content…
Castle, John McGrath and Jayashri Kukarni, 151 pages ; Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1st edition (September 15, 2000) , ISBN: 0521786177 A typological model of schizophrenia based on age at onset, sex an familial morbidity. Acta Psych8atr. Scand.89, 135-141 (1994). The global burden of disease: a comprehensive assessment of mortality and disability from diseases, injuries, and risk factors in 1990 and projected to 2020 Cambridge, MA: Published by the Harvard School of Public Health on behalf of the World Health Organization and the World Bank, Harvard University Press, 1996 http://www.mentalhealth.com/book/p40-s c02.html#Head_19 The 1999 NIH expenditures for other diseases were obtained from NIH’s annual report “Research Initiatives/Programs of Interest ” for 1999, http://www4.od.nih.gov/ofm/diseases/index.stm Copyright 1996-2010. Schizophrenia.com. The Internet Mental Health Initiative, All Rights Reserved. The Numbers Count: Mental Disorders in America Science Update February 20, 2008 Scans Reveal Faulty Brain Wiring Caused by Missing Genes "A Systemic Look At Schizophrenia," Science & Technology,

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