Schizophrenia and pregnancy: a national register-based follow-up study among Finnish women born between 1965 and 1980

To assess psychosocial and somatic risk factors related to pregnancy, and pregnancy-related complications or disorders in women with schizophrenia compared to population controls. In this register-based cohort study, we identified all Finnish women who were born in 1965–1980 and diagnosed with schizophrenia in psychiatric care before 31 December 2013. For each case, five age- and place-of-birth matched controls were randomly selected. They were followed from the day when the disorder was diagnosed in specialized health care till the end of 2013. The mean follow-up time was 14.0 + 6.91 vs. 14.3 + 6.89 years. Altogether, 1162 singleton pregnancies were found among affected women and 4683 among controls. Affected women were significantly older and more often single; their body mass index before pregnancy was significantly higher, and they smoked significantly more often both in the beginning of pregnancy and after the first trimester than controls. They showed a significantly higher odds for pathologic oral glucose tolerance test (odds ratio (OR) 1.66, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.27–2.17), initiation of insulin treatment (OR 1.84, 95% CI 1.15–2.93), fast fetal growth (OR 1.62, 95% CI 1.03–2.52), premature contractions (OR 2.42, 95% CI 1.31–4.49), hypertension (OR 1.81, 95% CI 1.01–3.27), and pregnancy-related hospitalizations (OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.66–2.33). Suspected damage to the fetus from alcohol/drugs was significantly more common among affected women than controls. Women with schizophrenia have higher prevalence of psychosocial and somatic risk factors related to pregnancy, as well as pregnancy-related complications and disorders than non-affected women.