Roy M A, Flaum M, Andreasen N C
Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, USA.
Schizophr Res. 1995 Nov;17(3):241-8. doi: 10.1016/0920-9964(95)00010-0.
The distinction between winter-born (WBS) and non-winter born (NWBS) schizophrenic cases has been proposed as a strategy to identify distinct etiologic subtypes within schizophrenia, the WBS subgroup being a predominantly environmental subtype. The goal of this paper is to empirically test the validity of this strategy by comparing WBS and NWBS groups on a broad array of clinical and biological variables. DSM-III-R schizophrenic, schizoaffective and schizophreniform subjects were comprehensively assessed using (i) the Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms and History; (ii) a comprehensive neurological exam; (iii) a neuropsychological battery, including IQ and the Continuous Performance Test and (iv) an MRI scanning. The patients were divided into WBS and NWBS, using five alternative sets of definitions of winter birth. These comparisons yielded no differences between the groups on any of the 23 variables. The results suggest that the distinction between winter-born and non-winter-born cases has very limited power to identify distinct schizophrenic subtypes, and that better delineation of the correlates of environmental risk factors in schizophrenia will require a better identification of these factors.
出生于冬季的精神分裂症患者（WBS）与非冬季出生的精神分裂症患者（NWBS）之间的差异，已被提议作为一种在精神分裂症中识别不同病因亚型的策略，其中WBS亚组主要是环境亚型。本文的目的是通过在一系列广泛的临床和生物学变量上比较WBS组和NWBS组，以实证检验该策略的有效性。使用以下方法对DSM-III-R精神分裂症、分裂情感性障碍和精神分裂症样障碍患者进行了全面评估：（i）症状和病史综合评估；（ii）全面的神经学检查；（iii）一套神经心理学测试，包括智商和连续操作测试；以及（iv）MRI扫描。采用五套不同的冬季出生定义，将患者分为WBS组和NWBS组。这些比较在23个变量中的任何一个上均未显示出两组之间存在差异。结果表明，出生于冬季和非冬季的病例之间的差异对于识别不同的精神分裂症亚型的能力非常有限，并且要更好地描述精神分裂症环境危险因素的相关因素，将需要更好地识别这些因素。
