Causes and Effects of Schizophrenia

The Causes and Effects of Schizophrenia In Children Schizophrenia is one of the most severe mental illnesses that affects one to two percent of people worldwide. The disorder more commonly affects people between the ages of 16 and 25, though it is very rare schizophrenia can develop at a very young age. Even though the causes of schizophrenia are still unknown, perinatal viral infections, traumatic events and substance abuse can be some of the leading factors when diagnosing someone with the illness. Due to schizophrenia’s highly disruptive delusions and disorganized thought patterns, it affects the way the person perceives the world making it next to impossible to live a normal life. As there is no single cause of schizophrenia treatments mainly focus on eliminating the symptoms leading up to the disease, such as: antipsychotic medication and various psychological treatments. Given the complexity of schizophrenia there isn’t just one main cause, therefore the effects and treatments differ from patient to patient. The causes of schizophrenia have been the subject of debate, with various factors as to what might cause the disease. Since there is no definitive answer as to what triggers schizophrenia there has been reason to believe that many different elements are known to lead to it. Viruses have been known to induce schizophrenia, “congenital infection is common and induces a widespread systematic reaction including destructive periventricular lesions and gliosis in the fetal brain”(Brixey). When an expecting mother catches a respiratory infection such as influenza for example, their child is “up to seven times more likely to [get] schizophrenia”(geelong advertiser). These viruses initiate a “mental switch” that permanently changes the fetus’ brain causing it to have a mental illness, such as schizophrenia, later on in life. If the fetus experiences certain events during the embryonic development it can have debilitating effects on its brain formation