Risk of psychotic-like experiences can start in childhood

Date:
April 27, 2022
Source:
University of Rochester Medical Center
Summary:
Researchers have found that the more urban of an environment a
child lived in -- proximity to roads, houses with lead paint risks,
families in poverty, and income disparity -- the greater number
of psychotic like experiences they had over a year's time.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
It has long been understood that environmental and socio-economic factors
- - including income disparity, family poverty, and air pollution --
increase a person's risk of developing psychotic-like experiences, such
as subtle hallucinations and delusions that can become precursors to a schizophrenia diagnosis later in life. Research has long focused on young adults but now, thanks to the data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, researchers at the University of Rochester
have found these risk factors can be observed in pre-adolescent children.


========================================================================== "These findings could have a major impact on public health initiatives
to reduce the risk of psychotic like experiences," said Abhishek Saxena,
a graduate student in the department of Psychology at the University of Rochester and first author of the study recently published in Frontiers
in Psychiatry.

"Past research has largely focused on the biological factors that lead
to development of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, but we now know that
social and environmental factors can also play a large role in the risk
and development of schizophrenia. And this research shows these factors
impact people starting at a very young age." Researchers looked at data collected from 8,000 kids enrolled in the ABCD study. They found that
the more urban of an environment a child lived in - - proximity to roads, houses with lead paint risks, families in poverty, and income disparity --
the greater number of psychotic like experiences they had over a year's
time. These findings are in line with past research conducted in young
adults, but have not been found like this in pre-adolescences.

"It is disconcerting that the association between these exposures and psychotic-like experiences are already present in late childhood,"
said David Dodell-Feder, Ph.D., assistant professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and lead author of this study. "The fact that the impact
of these exposures may occur as early as pre-adolescence highlights the importance of early prevention." This research was supported by the
National Institute of Mental Health.

The University of Rochester Medical Center is one of 21 research sites
across the country collecting data for the National Institutes of Health
ABCD Study.

Since 2017, 340 children from the greater Rochester area have been participating in the 10-year study. In all, the study is following 11,750 children through early adulthood looking at how biological development, behaviors, and experiences impact brain maturation and other aspects
of their lives, including academic achievement, social development,
and overall health.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_Rochester_Medical_Center. Original written by Kelsie Smith Hayduk. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Abhishek Saxena, David Dodell-Feder. Explaining the Association
Between
Urbanicity and Psychotic-Like Experiences in Pre-Adolescence:
The Indirect Effect of Urban Exposures. Frontiers in Psychiatry,
2022; 13 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.831089 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220427100557.htm

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