Schizophrenia: A Review of Social Risk Factors That Affect Women.
Alexandre González-RodríguezMentxu NatividadHaitham JahramiJennipher Paola PaoliniAriadna BalaguéEloïsa RománEduard IzquierdoAnabel PérezAnna ValletMireia SalvadorJosé Antonio MonrealPublished in: Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) (2023)
Social risk factors are long-term or repeated environmental exposures in childhood and youth that change the brain and may, via epigenetic effects, change gene expression. They thus have the power to initiate or aggravate mental disorders. Because these effects can be mediated via hormonal or immune/inflammatory pathways that differ between men and women, their influence is often sex-specific. The goal of this narrative review is to explore the literature on social risk factors as they affect women with schizophrenia. We searched the PubMed and Scopus databases from 2000 to May 2023 using terms referring to the various social determinants of health in conjunction with "women" and with "schizophrenia". A total of 57 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. In the domains of childhood and adult abuse or trauma, victimization, stigma, housing, and socioeconomics, women with schizophrenia showed greater probability than their male peers of suffering negative consequences. Interventions targeting appropriate housing, income support, social and parenting support, protection from abuse, violence, and mothering-directed stigma have, to different degrees, yielded success in reducing stress levels and alleviating the many burdens of schizophrenia in women.
Keyphrases
- mental health
- bipolar disorder
- risk factors
- mental illness
- gene expression
- polycystic ovary syndrome
- healthcare
- physical activity
- dna methylation
- systematic review
- pregnancy outcomes
- intimate partner violence
- cervical cancer screening
- hiv aids
- young adults
- public health
- type diabetes
- risk assessment
- machine learning
- hiv infected
- pregnant women
- air pollution
- skeletal muscle
- multiple sclerosis
- human immunodeficiency virus
- brain injury
- cancer therapy
- cerebral ischemia
- white matter
- health promotion
- antiretroviral therapy
- subarachnoid hemorrhage
- drug delivery