Study detects differences in risk of schizophrenia between men and women

A study carried out jointly by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) and the University of Barcelona (UB), both in Spain, found the existence of differences between men and women in relation to the effects of the genetic risk of schizophrenia.

Numerous studies had analysed the genetic link between schizophrenia and its subclinical expressions, but the results were inconsistent. For this reason, Dr Nieves Vidal-Barrantes, from the UAB, and Dr Araceli Rosa, from the UB, researchers at the Biomedical Research Centre in Mental Health Network (Cibersam), addressed this question through an analysis of the role of sex in the relationship between genetics and subclinical expressions of schizophrenia, with a sample of almost 1,200 university students.

When analyzing the differences between sexes, it was observed that, In males, genetic risk for schizophrenia is specifically associated with the positive dimension of schizotypy, which includes, for example, having strange beliefs and unusual perceptual experiences.

This pattern was not observed in women, suggesting that the subclinical expression of genetic risk may differ by sex. The results, which are part of Patricia Mas Bermejo's doctoral thesis, highlight the need to consider sex differences in future genetic and clinical studies.

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The authors consider that "the specific association observed in men could be related to differences in non-genetic factors, such as the environment, which would modulate the expression of genetic risk. In addition, these differences reflect patterns observed in patients with schizophrenia, in which men tend to present different clinical symptoms than women, worse premorbid functioning and an earlier onset of the disease," they added.

The study was published in Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, and although no conclusive evidence was found for a strong shared genetic basis between schizophrenia and its subclinical phenotypes, The results open new questions and directions for investigating how genetic variants and environmental factors interact differently depending on sex.

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