Why Schizophrenia Affect Men More Than Women

One of the most interesting questions to arise from the study of schizophrenia is whether gender played any role for an individual's susceptibility to this mental disorder. Since hereditary factors played a significant role in increasing one's risk factor to this mental disorder, it would be interesting to find out what level of significance gender had in all of this.

Gender Profile of Schizophrenia

Clinicians have long been conducting research studies to explain whether men or women are more likely to develop schizophrenia as compared to the other sex. What they were able to point out in the result of the study is that men and women react differently to schizophrenia, as well as treatments. Hence, a male or female will have different chances of acquiring this mental disorder and what treatments will work best for them.

The most notable difference between each gender is their reaction to certain medications. The progress rate for each individual also differ between each sexes. Despite the differences in the reaction of men and women to the treatment for the disease, health experts and phsyicians still recommend the same treatment approach for both sexes instead of being discriminatory.

One major conclusion that clinicians have been able to come up with during their extensive research study is that men are hit the hardest of the disease and statistics are there to prove it.

Why are Men More Prone to Schizophrenia?

Medical statistics reveal that the number of men who were diagnosed with schizophrenia outnumber the cases in women. This is especially concentrated within the 15 to 25 age range, which creates an even more alarming conclusion that the symptoms of this condition are manifested early on. Even before the research studies and statistics revealed it, medical professionals were able to guess that men are more susceptible to schizophrenia due to their florid and often threatening behavior.

Analyzing Schizophrenia in Women

There has been several cases of misdiagnosis of schizophrenia in women, which turned out to actually be bipolar disorder or depression. The onset of symptoms for schizophrenia in women happen three years later than that of men. This is why it is believed that women suffering from schizophrenia are more capable of dealing with the symptoms of their condition since they are far more mature and their brain has attained its full social development. This solid foundation is something that men lack by the time the symptoms of schizophrenia are manifested since they do not have solid foundation yet.

Reasons Why Schizophrenia is More Common in Men

After analyzing the statistics in men and women, it is more important to examine what might have caused men to be more prone to schizophrenia than women. Although the reasons are somewhat speculative, there are several evidence for this:

• Men have a higher tendency of suffering from brain injuries by the time of birth.

• Men and boys engage in physically active sports, which increases the possibility of them suffering from head injuries or brain damage.

• Imaging studies have shown that men have 16 percent smaller inferior partial lobule in their brain as compared to women. This is a vital part of the brain that affect the visual, auditory, and key sensory areas, which when miswired result to the manifestation of key schizophrenia symptoms.