Minor physical anomalies in schizophrenia

This study was conducted to investigate the value of using physical anomalies (PAs) to evaluate early prenatal injury in schizophrenia. PAs are minor abnormalities in development of the head, hands, and feet that are presumably associated with insult during the first trimester. Sixty-seven schizophrenic inpatients and 88 normal controls were evaluated for PAs. The schizophrenic patients showed significantly more anomalies than the controls. The difference remained significant even when patients were compared to controls of low socioeconomic status. Both male and female patients showed a high incidence of mouth abnormalities, and female patients showed a high incidence of abnormalities in head circumference. Patients with early age of onset (≤ 18 years) had more physical anomalies than did later onset patients. This relationship was most noticeable for males. Physical anomalies were not associated with deficits on measures of vigilance, selective attention, or orientation.