WORLD SCHZOPHRENIA AWARENESS DAY

World Schizophrenia Awareness Day

(May 24)

     Schizophrenia is a disease of the human brain. It can happen to anyone. But when it comes to this disease, the life of schizophrenics and their loved ones, could become better, safer even, if the truth of this illness were given the equal attention that is assigned to every other disease.

SCHIZOPHRENIA is one of the major disorders of the mind, affecting as it does 0.5-1 per cent of the population. It has been described as the “greatest disabler of youth”. Ubiquitous in its distribution throughout the world, it affects ali ke men and women, rich and poor, literate and illiterate. Although the ages 15-35 years are the high-risk age for schizophrenia, children and elderly also suffer from it. Migrants, those living in very deprived environments, some ethnic minorities, children with one or both parents afflicted by schizophrenia seem to be at a higher risk of developing schizophrenia.A leading public health problem, the personal and economic costs of schizophrenia can be staggering. The disability produced by schizophrenia is all encompassing, affecting as it does personal care and hygiene, interpersonal relationships, social interactions, the ability to work, difficulty in attention, concentration and memory. In developing countries, where most persons with schizophrenia live with families, the human and economic burdens are huge.

There are still unfilled gaps in our understanding of schizophrenia. Though recent research is largely focused on establishing the genetic causes, all details of such genetic transmission are still not clear. Similarly, biological changes in the brain have been well documented to the extent that schizophrenia is now termed a “disorder of the brain”.

Symptoms

Hallucinations, delusions, disorders of thinking, neglect of self-care and personal hygiene, difficulties in socialisation are all hallmarks of schizophrenia. Their content and nature could vary among different cultures and societies. Aggression is reported to be more in western patients than those in developing countries. Being male and single, unemployed, delayed and irregular treatment, family history of psychoses, poor social and work functioning before the illness, use of alcohol or other addictive drugs, unhealthy family environment all seem to work towards a poor outcome.Availability of effective medicines, better community care, increasing awareness about the illness seem to have improved the outcome in a substantial number of persons with schizophrenia. Persons with schizophrenia die young compared to the general population. Infectious disease, heart ailments and death by suicides are common.

     One in ten patients with schizophrenia has an affected family member. Increased number of birth complications, infections during pregnancy and use of addictive substances such as cannabis during adolescence have all been associated with schizophrenia.Disability and burden
Schizophrenia causes considerable disability in several areas of a person’s functioning. Self-care, care of personal space and environment, interpersonal relationships, ability to show emotions and carry on meaningful conversations, ability to find and keep jobs, faculties such as attention, concentration, memory and other cognitive functions may all be impaired The fact that mental disability is not visually apparent as in the case of other disabilities has resulted in its being marginalised among the disabilities themselves. Added to this is the fact that the mentally ill are not as articulate as the other disabled groups.Schizophrenia still continues to be painfully stigmatised for several reasons. A host of stereotypes such as aggression, contagion, unpredictability and inevitable heritability exist. Compounding this is the reality that a small percentage of persons with schizophrenia do not improve and remain considerably disabled all through their lives, despite treatment.For such disabling conditions, a network of services in the government, NGO and private sectors need to be in place and adequately linked. Only then can medical treatment, psychosocial rehabilitation and support, family support, housing, employment, stigma and human rights and discrimination be effectively dealt with. However utopian this may sound, it is mandatory for all developing countries to work towards this. Only then will comprehensive care for person with schizophrenia and their families become a reality.

Posted by Ezhilan.L

Some researchers believe that environmental events may trigger schizophrenia in people who are already genetically at risk for the disorder. For example, infection during development in the mother's womb or stressful psychological experiences may increase the risk for developing schizophrenia later in life. Social and family support appears to improve the illness.

Schizophrenia affects about 1% of people worldwide. It occurs equally among men and women, but in women it tends to begin later and be milder. For this reason, males tend to account for more than half of patients in services with high numbers of young adults. Although schizophrenia usually begins in young adulthood, there are cases in which the disorder begins later (over age 45).

Childhood-onset schizophrenia begins after age 5 and, in most cases, after normal development. Childhood schizophrenia is rare and can be difficult to tell apart from other developmental disorders of childhood, such as autism.

                                                                         Prof. John Kurakar