[Obstetrical complications and schizophrenia. Comparative study of obstetric antecedents in schizophrenic and bipolar patients].

Information on pregnancy and birth complications was recorded for 46 patients with DSM III-R schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. The biological mothers of the patients were interviewed personally to obtain obstetric information. There were no significant differences between schizophrenic and bipolar patients in age at the assessment, distribution of sex, paternal social class, age of the mother at birth, and birth order. Biological mothers of schizophrenics had more often than mothers of bipolar patients an history of miscarriage, but this trend failed to reach statistical significance. Pregnancy complications and birth weight were not significantly different between schizophrenic and bipolar patients. Birth complications were scored according to the method described by Parnas et al. (1982). Three scores were obtained for each patient: a frequency score, a severity score, and a total score. All the scores were significantly higher in the schizophrenic than in the bipolar group (frequency score p < 0.011; severity score p < 0.015; total score p < 0.01). Surprisingly, birth complications were more severe in female than in male schizophrenics (p < 0.017). The two groups of patients could not be differentiated by specific birth complication. The schizophrenic patients with a history of birth complication and those without such an history did not differ in age at onset, age at first hospitalization, family history of schizophrenic or non-affective psychotic disorder, neuroleptic resistance, and type of schizophrenia. Because of the small number of subjects in each group a type II error cannot be excluded for these negative results.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)