Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, JAMA, Pediatrics, Schizophrenia / 04.11.2019
Childhood Nitrogen Dioxide Exposure Associated With Elevated Risk of Schizophrenia
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Henriette Thisted Horsdal PhD
Senior Researcher
Department of Economics and Business Economics
AARHUS University
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Recent studies have suggested that exposure to nitrogen dioxide during childhood is associated with elevated risk of subsequently developing schizophrenia. We know that schizophrenia has a genetic component, and that individuals with higher genetic loading for schizophrenia tend to live in more densely urban areas. It is not known whether the increased risk associated with exposure to nitrogen dioxide during childhood is owing to a greater genetic liability among those exposed to highest nitrogen dioxide levels.
Exposure to nitrogen dioxide during childhood and genetic liability (as measured by a polygenic risk score) for schizophrenia were independently associated with increased schizophrenia risk. (more…)