Symptoms And Prevalence Rate Of Adolescents

Schizophrenia is a unique disease in its pathophysiology. For their early lives, patients appear healthy. However, symptoms begin to appear during adolescence or early adulthood and may be triggered by changes in the brain during puberty. The first signs of the illness include anxiety, depression, changes in friends, sleep problems, irritability, dropping grades, and having trouble concentrating (Picchioni and Murray, 2007; National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)). Delusions and hallucinations typically begin between the ages of 16 and 30 (NIMH).

Majority of cases begin in adolescence and adulthood. The peak age range would be eighteen to thirty year olds. As far as we know it is very rare for a child to have schizophrenia. The age for schizophrenia to appear differs by gender. Women tend to be diagnosed in between twenty and twenty-four. There is a second rise in numbers for women. The second rise begins after the age of forty. Men tend to get it in their twenties. After the age of thirty-five the number of men who develop schizophrenia tends to drop, thus males more likely to have early onset compared to women. “Gender differences may be related to women having more mood disorder and anxiety diagnosis leading to milder forms of schizophrenia going undiagnosed,” (Butcher, 2014). Gender can play a big role when diagnosing schizophrenia.

The peak age at onset for the first psychotic episode is the early- to mid-20s for males, as Martin’s case. The onset may be abrupt or insidious, but most people manifest a slow and gradual development of a variety of clinically significant signs and symptoms. The effect of age at onset is likely related to gender, with males having worse premorbid adjustment, lower educational achievement, more prominent negative symptoms and cognitive impairment, and in general a worse outcome.

As stated by NIHM, the prevalence of schizophrenia is about 1 in every 100 people in the general population. Ten percent of the people who have first degree family members with the disorder, such as a brother, sister, or parent, also have schizophrenia. A

There is a considerable amount of different concepts that can be used when thinking about schizophrenia; unfortunately, since it continues to be a misunderstood disorder, there also exist numerous misconceptions about the schizophrenia. The most common misconceptions deal with the treatment options for schizophrenia, the potential recovery rate, and the ability of people who are diagnosed with the disorder or symptoms to live productive and meaningful lives. Though there are no permanent cures to treat the disease, there are certain medications that help manage the symptoms in order to help people lead healthy and satisfied lives. The recovery rate for the disease is also

Schizophrenia is a heterogeneous illness that may involve several pathophysiological gender differences. For men and women incidence risk peaks between 20-29 years of age, and women also have a second risk peak between 30–39 years of age. Negative symptoms including low motivation and withdrawal are more frequent in men and appear up to six years before diagnosis (Hafner, 2005; Hafner et al., 1993; Morgan et al., 2008). Women exhibit greater levels of depression and positive symptoms including sexual inappropriateness, impulsivity and delusions (Mendrek et al., 2015; Van der Werf et al., 2014). Sex differences in either age of onset or prevalence of negative symptoms are not as evident in patients that have a family history of schizophrenia (Bergen et al., 2014; Hafner et al., 1998).

Symptoms can affect people more than others, but in the end they lead to the same thing. Hallucinations and delusions are the most common symptom, it is only diagnosed as schizophrenia if it lasts more than 6 months. Some other symptoms are behavioral changes for example, social isolation, disorganized behavior, repetitive movements, self

Schizophrenia is a chronic, lifetime mental disorder that cannot be cured, but can be effectively treated and managed. Research conducted in developed countries revealed that about 20 to 35 percent of patients undergo a rapid improvement when treated. Approximately, 70 percent of the patients suffer a relapse of acute symptoms within the next 2 to 5 years after being discharged from hospital. The risk of relapse usually decreases 10 years after the initial onset.

Scientists believe genetics can pose the greater risk for getting Schizophrenia. Here are a few risk factors:

Schizophrenia is quite possible the most dreaded psychological disorder there is. It is also one of the most heavily researched (Myers, 477). Unfortunately there is no certain cause of this disease. Researched show that genetic predisposition enhances the probability of schizophrenia. A child who has a biological parent that has been diagnosed with schizophrenia has approximately a one in eight chance of developing this dreaded disorder (Berger, 407). In a study this is evaultion

Schizophrenia occurs in 1% of people and that percentage shoots up to 10% when a person is a direct family member of a Schizophrenic. Even aunts, uncles, grandparents, or cousins to Schizophrenics are even more likely to develop Schizophrenia than a person with no relation to a Schizophrenic. An identical twin of a Schizophrenic is at the highest risk, with a 40-65% chance of developing this disease (The National Institute of Mental Health "What is Schizophrenia?"). It is EXTREMELY uncommon for a person before 12 years old or after 40 years old to be diagnosed with Schizophrenia ("What Causes Schizophrenia?" NAMI Fact Sheet). "I estimate that 10% of people have one episode of schizophrenia and recover...To become schizophrenic in America, you have to be ill for 6 months...under ICD-10 criteria, you have to be psychotic for 1 month...10% won't need continuing psychiatric treatment to function in

Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that affects 300,000 Canadians (3). Although it affects both men and women equally, it tends to be more severe in men than in women (1). Schizophrenia most often appears in men in their late teens or early twenties, while it appears in women in their late twenties or early thirties (3). Finding the causes for

Schizophrenia is commonly viewed as a hopeless disease where people who have it never recover. While there is no cure for schizophrenia, there are effective treatments that have been proven successful. Medications, recovery-oriented psychosocial treatments and rehabilitation practices are increasingly helping people with

Schizophrenia is a life-long disorder that affects about one percent of the population (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). The cause of this mental illness is still unclear. Studies have suggested that Schizophrenia does not arise from one factor but from a combination of genetic, environmental, and social factors (Liddle, 1987). People diagnosed with Schizophrenia struggle to deal with a multitude of symptoms that make it difficult to function (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Antipsychotic medications are a popular treatment of the symptoms of Schizophrenia (Mueser & McGurk, 2004). Research is constantly being done to develop these medications to enhance the quality of life of those diagnosed with Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is not yet fully understood, but it is known that it is characterized by extreme disturbances in many vital areas, including behavior, emotions, speech, perception and thinking. The term schizophrenia means