Understanding the Causes of Schizophrenia

Abstract

Schizophrenia is one of our most important public health problems. It is a common, tragic, and devastating mental illness that typically strikes young people just when they are maturing into adulthood. Once it strikes, morbidity is high (60 percent of patients are receiving disability benefits within the first year after onset),1 as is mortality (the suicide rate is 10 percent).2 Despite the fact that people with schizophrenia are all around us (the lifetime prevalence is 1 percent worldwide),2 this illness is often misunderstood, and people with schizophrenia are stigmatized by both the medical profession and the public. Our understanding of . . .