A joint study by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) and the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) has revealed differences between men and women in the relationship between the risk of developing schizophrenia and the mild subclinical traits that the general population may experience.
The research, published in the journal ‘Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry’, used a sample of nearly 1,200 university students, as reported by the UAB in a statement on Wednesday.
ESQUIZOTIPIA AND RISK
According to the dimensional view, psychosis is expressed on a continuum ranging from mild subclinical traits and experiences (schizotypy), present in the general population, to clinical symptoms in patients diagnosed with the disease.
Numerous studies have explored, with inconsistent results, the genetic link between schizophrenia and its subclinical expressions; the research by UAB and UB has addressed this issue by also analyzing the role of sex in this relationship.
The study did not find a clear association between the genetic burden related to schizophrenia and subclinical traits, but it did detect that in men, the genetic risk of schizophrenia is specifically associated with the positive dimension of schizotypy, which includes strange beliefs and unusual perceptual experiences.
This pattern was not observed in women, suggesting that the subclinical expression of genetic risk may differ by sex.
The results highlight the need to consider sex differences in future genetic and clinical studies, opening up new questions and directions to investigate how genetic variants and environmental factors interact in a differentiated way according to sex.
