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What Causes Schizophrenia?

From About.com

Updated: January 10, 2008

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Endocrine Theories of Schizophrenia

Some scientists suspect that schizophrenia involves problems with the endochrine (hormone) systems. Reasons to suspect a schizophrenia-endochrine link include:

  • Hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and Cushing’s syndrome can all produce schizophrenia-like symptoms.
  • Post-partum psychosis is induced by hormone changes after delivery.
  • Female reproductive hormone levels are abnormal in women with schizophrenia.
  • Compulsive water drinking, which sometime occurs in schizophrenia, may be linked to pituitary hormones.

Diabetes, a disease which involves the hormone insulin, seems to have associations with schizophrenia:

  • Insulin coma has been reported to cause brief remission in people with schizophrenia.
  • Schizophrenia is less common in Type I diabetics than in the general population.
  • Schizophrenia is more common in Type II diabetics than in the general population.
  • Some atypical antipsychotics increase the chances of developing Type II diabetes.

Researchers are studying the relationship between hormones and schizophrenia. It is too early to know if endocrine problems are a cause of schizophrenia, an effect of the schizophrenia, or the result of an underlying process that causes schizophrenia.

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