Prenatal and perinatal risk factors of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia could be considered the most severe of all psychiatric disorders. It shows a heterogeneous clinical picture and presents an etiopathogenesis that is not cleared sufficiently. Even if the etiopathogenesis remains a puzzle, there is a scientific consensus that it is an expression of interaction between genotype and environmental factors. In the present article, following a study of literature and the accumulated evidence, the role of prenatal and perinatal factors in the development of schizophrenia will be revised and synthesized. We think that better knowledge of the risk factors could be helpful not only for better comprehension of the pathogenesis but especially to optimize interventions for prevention of the disorder.