Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder, that makes it very hard to think well, and manage emotions. Schizophrenia can affect any age or gender.
Early Symptoms of Schizophrenia in Females
Early signs of schizophrenia in females can appear gradually as changes in mode and thinking, sleep disturbance, and irritability. It may last for a long time before the first episode of psychosis. Others such as family and friends may not notice the signs.
Symptoms differ from one to another. There are three main categories: Negative, Psychotic, and Cognitive.
Negative symptoms include losing motivation, difficulty expressing emotions, avoiding social interaction, and low energy.
In severe cases, a person doesn’t move or talk but it is a rare condition called catatonic.
Psychotic symptoms in which the person can’t think or act in a normal way. A schizophrenic person cannot differentiate between reality and imagination. Psychotic symptoms include:
Hallucination: people hear sounds, see things, and smell things that are not present.
Delusions: people who believe that others want to hurt them and they always are in danger.
Thought disorder: in which people have unusual thinking or illogical. They have trouble with their thoughts and speech. They may stop talking suddenly, jump from one topic to another, difficult to speak clearly.
Cognitive symptoms: people have problems with attention, memory, and making decisions. They may forget important things to do.
Most people with schizophrenia are not violent. The risk of harm to themselves and others is increased if they are not treated. So, it is important to start treatment once notice symptoms.
Schizophrenia in Females
Schizophrenia is one of the most common mental disorders with an incidence of 0.7%–1% among the total population. However schizophrenia has a similar prevalence in men and women, it occurs in females by 3_5 years later than in males.
Schizophrenia affects males more than females, research showed that the incidence of schizophrenia in females is 1 to every 1.4 males. This may refer to the female sex hormones and reproductive transitions’ impact various aspects of brain biology and pathobiology. These biological differences can impact differential gene expression or organ development.
Age of Onset of Schizophrenia in Females
The average onset of schizophrenia is the early 20s in males and the late 20s to early 30s in females. It is uncommon in ages younger than 12 or older than 40.
Men have a single peak age of onset that is between 21 and 25 years old, while schizophrenia in females has two peak ages of onset; one of them is between 25-30 years old, and another one is over 45 years old.
The late two peak of onset of schizophrenia in females is due to a decrease in estrogen in menopause. Also, some life events such as pregnancy, fertility, and menopause, can affect the onset of mental disorders.
The age of onset of schizophrenia affects the type of symptoms. Research showed that females with late-onset schizophrenia may have less severe negative symptoms and the presence of more positive symptoms particularly sensory Hallucinations and persecutory delusion.
Estrogen’s Role Against Schizophrenia in Females
Estrogen plays a protective role against schizophrenia as it has neuroprotective properties and protects the brain from certain insults.
Recent case reports and clinical studies showed that women with schizophrenia exhibit higher relapse rates, more severe symptoms, and more hospitalizations during periods of low circulating sex hormones, such as the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, postpartum, and post-menopause.
On the other hand, periods of high circulating sex hormones, such as pregnancy and the mid-luteal stage of the menstrual cycle, are associated with lower rates of recurrence and less severe symptoms.
Treatment
Schizophrenia is not cured but can control symptoms in several ways.
- Antipsychotic medication to relieve symptoms of psychosis such as hallucinations and delusions. Females show a more favorable antipsychotic treatment response than males.
- Psychotherapy helps people with schizophrenia identify and change their emotions and behavior.
- Psychosocial treatments help people with schizophrenia to eliminate the barriers and learn to live well.
Read Also: How to Detect Brain Tumor at Home
Conclusions
Schizophrenia is a serious mental disorder that can affect any gender or age. Early Symptoms of schizophrenia in females can develop gradually, and appear as a change in mode, and sleep disturbance. Others may not notice it. Symptoms are divided into three categories; Negative, Psychotic, and Cognitive.
Schizophrenia affects males more than females, due to biological differences between them.
Successful treatment depends on minimizing the duration between the onset of psychosis and treatment.
References
Clinicaltrials.gov. (n.d.). https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06562608?term=schizophrenia&aggFilters=status%3Anot+rec%2CfunderType%3Anih&viewType=Table&rank=5
Gogos, A., Sbisa, A. M., Sun, J., Gibbons, A., Udawela, M., & Dean, B. (2015a). A role for estrogen in schizophrenia: Clinical and preclinical findings. International journal of endocrinology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4600562/
Gogos, A., Sbisa, A. M., Sun, J., Gibbons, A., Udawela, M., & Dean, B. (2015b). A role for estrogen in schizophrenia: Clinical and preclinical findings. International journal of endocrinology. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4600562/
Li, R., Ma, X., Wang, G., Yang, J., & Wang, C. (2016, September). Why sex differences in schizophrenia? Journal of translational neuroscience. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5688947/
NHS. (n.d.). NHS choices. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/schizophrenia/causes/
Schizophrenia. NAMI. (2024, November 12). https://www.nami.org/about-mental-illness/mental-health-conditions/schizophrenia/
