Age of Onset of Schizophrenia Data

Data on sex differences in the age of onset of schizophrenia.

schizophrenia

Format

A data frame with 251 observations on the following 2 variables.

age

Age at the time of diagnosis.

gender

A categorical variable with values female and male

Source

This data set was taken from the HSAUR R package. From the description in that package, the original is E. Kraepelin (1919), Dementia Praecox and Paraphrenia. Livingstone, Edinburgh.

Details

A sex difference in the age of onset of schizophrenia was noted by Kraepelin (1919). Subsequently epidemiological studies of the disorder have consistently shown an earlier onset in men than in women. One model that has been suggested to explain this observed difference is known as the subtype model which postulates two type of schizophrenia, one characterised by early onset, typical symptoms and poor premorbid competence, and the other by late onset, atypical symptoms, and good premorbid competence. The early onset type is assumed to be largely a disorder of men and the late onset largely a disorder of women.