Schizophrenia - Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling mental illness. Schizophrenia is usually diagnosed in people aged 17-35 years. Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorder that affects about 1.1 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. People with schizophrenia may not make sense when they talk, may sit for hours without moving or talking much, or may seem perfectly fine until they talk about what they are really thinking. Genetic factors appear to play a role, as people who have family members with schizophrenia may be more likely to get the disease themselves. Psychological and social factors may also play some role in its development. Social isolation commonly occurs and may be due to a number of factors. Late adolescence and early adulthood are peak years for the onset of schizophrenia. These are critical periods in a young adult's social and vocational development, and they can be severely disrupted by disease onset. Childhood schizophrenia is rare and can be difficult to differentiate from other pervasive developmental disorders of childhood, such as autism. Schizophrenia appears to occur in equal rates among men and women, but women have a later onset. Psychotic, or "positive," symptoms include delusions.