Twenty-five-year Followup of the Israeli High-risk Study: Current and Lifetime Psychopathology

Abstract

Current and lifetime psychopathology was assessed in 50 Israeli children of parents with schizophrenia who were either of kibbutz families and raised collectively with the help of child care workers, or of urban families and raised by their parents. Index subjects were compared with 50 matched control children of healthy parents by means of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Israel. Subjects were evaluated in adulthood at a mean age of 31 years; schizophrenia was found exclusively among children of ill parents, and no effect of town or kibbutz rearing on risk for schizophrenia was observed. Major affective illness was more common among kibbutz index subjects. Affective symptomatology observed in some index parents was evenly distributed among town and kibbutz parents and was not related to the diagnosis of affective disorders in at-risk children. Current adult functioning was similar between town-and kibbutz-raised subjects (and in general reflected good adjustment); an excess of personality disorders was found among index subjects. The present findings support the concept that both familial and environmental factors operate in the expression of psychopathology.

Neurobehavioral deficits in offspring of schizophrenic parents: Liability indicators and predictors of illness

“…Prevalence rates for the Cluster A personality disorders vary more widely, ranging from 0% in the IHRS [Ingraham et al, 1995] to 50% in the NYIS [Fish, 1984]. Rates of affective disorders in the OSPs seem high in the IHRS [Ingraham et al, 1995] are similar to those for the normal controls in each of these studies. Thus, on the whole, the clinical outcomes in the OPSs followed in the prospective studies are in accord with expectations.…”

“…The rates of schizophrenia in the four studies with adulthood follow-up are not significantly different from the average morbidity risk among OSPs in the older family study literature [Gottesman et al, 1987]. Prevalence rates for the Cluster A personality disorders vary more widely, ranging from 0% in the IHRS [Ingraham et al, 1995] to 50% in the NYIS [Fish, 1984]. Rates of affective disorders in the OSPs seem high in the IHRS [Ingraham et al, 1995] are similar to those for the normal controls in each of these studies.…”

Risk of developing schizophrenia among Japanese high‐risk offspring of affected parent: outcome of a twenty‐four‐year follow up

“…The probands were recruited at the authors' outpatient clinic and were under the care of the authors for most of the follow‐up period. This may be a unique feature of the present study in contrast with the previous studies, which mainly followed up hospitalized patients and their offspring 9–14 . Thus, in the present study, the high‐risk offspring were all being reared at home by their biological parents at the start of the follow up.…”

“…7 Thus far, several groups from Europe, North America and Israel have conducted high-risk studies of schizophrenia (reviewed by Cannon et al). 8 The cumulative incidence of schizophrenia was estimated as follows in those studies: 8.3% in the USA, 9 16.2% in Denmark, 10 8.0% in Israel, 11 13.1% in the USA, 12 3.6% in Sweden 13 and 6.7% in Finland. 14 With the exception of an incidence of 3.6% in Sweden, 12 the incidence ranged from 6.7% (in Finland) 14 to 16.2% (in Denmark).…”

“…A previous study observed that the risk of schizophrenia might differ between offspring who grew up in nursing institutions and those who were reared at home 15 . The upbringing environment may have an effect on the future precipitation of the disease 5,11,15 . The severity of the parents' illness may also biologically or psychologically affect the risk in the offspring 16 .…”