# Please help me understand some things about schizophrenia and Bipolar-2 **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 25, 2022, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-understand-some-things-about-schizophrenia-and-bipolar-2/975516 "2022-11-25T06:21:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Retzbu\_Tox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/retzbu_tox/32/11829_2.png) [@Retzbu\_Tox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Retzbu_Tox)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-understand-some-things-about-schizophrenia-and-bipolar-2/975516/21 "2022-11-27T02:10:02Z")
I have come across articles several times about the possibility that a mother or fetus having a viral infection may interfere with fetal development, exacerbating any existing genetic risk factors. I don’t know that anyone has been able to prove the specific mechanism involved, but statistically they can show a correlation between pregnancies during flu season and the likelihood that schizophrenia may occur in adulthood. > **[Being Born in Winter–Spring and at Around the Time of an Influenza Pandemic...](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8267856/)** > > Background: We analyzed the relationship between the prevalence of schizophrenia and the season of birth and gestation during a period of an influenza pandemic. Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of a prospective population-based cohort of 470,942... Also, in addition to an increased risk of schizophrenia if a close family member was also schizophrenic, there have been studies indicating risk factors for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder may overlap each other. The child of a bipolar or schizophrenic parent may be at increased risk of _ **both** _ disorders. > **[Genetic Relationships Between Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and...](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3984527/)** > > There is substantial evidence for partial overlap of genetic influences on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, with family, twin, and adoption studies showing a genetic correlation between the disorders of around 0.6. Results of genome-wide... ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-understand-some-things-about-schizophrenia-and-bipolar-2/975516/22 "2022-11-27T15:03:03Z")
As far as causes of schizophrenia go-- my understanding is that it would almost be impossible for it to have one singular cause because they are too many factors that can influence how the human brain develops and functions. So for some people the brain abnormalities that cause it might have arisen from a genetic abnormality. Or in others a virus or bacteria could have caused them. Or maybe toxins interfered with brain development. Or maybe it was a head injury that caused the damage. Or maybe something else/ ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2022, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-understand-some-things-about-schizophrenia-and-bipolar-2/975516/23 "2022-11-27T23:51:24Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > one singular cause because they are too many factors that can influence how the human brain develops and functions. This is a bit of a tangent, but I still think it holds some value for this for discussion. In 2005 I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. It was a freak thing - I had a kidney stone pass and the ultra-sound showed a tumor. Surgery and the works. I’m fine. FFW to 2019. [abbreviating the whole background] Colo-rectal cancer. Surgery and recovery. I’m fine today. What is pertinent for this thread is when I asked my surgeon if I was a cancer magnet. _Nah_, he said. It boiled down to a number of factors/triggers: Genetics Stress Diet (processed meat) Alcohol Tobacco Obesity Stupidity (as in not seeking medical treatment) Exercise (rather the lack of) Environment My doc said that any of these factors are often described in media as ‘contributing to cancer.’ And while that’s true, ticking off four of them might trigger it, and ticking of six might not, it’s actually a grim kind of lottery. Some people who never smoke will get lung cancer, while some people who live their lives on nothing but red meat will turn 97 this year. Tying this back to schizophrenia: No single factor will be the cause. And even multiple factors may not trigger it. But sometimes there are factors that - in and of themselves - aren’t alarming, but in conjunction participate in setting off a chain of events that will result in mental illness. ETA: I wrote this whole pst under a slight influence of alcohol. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-help-me-understand-some-things-about-schizophrenia-and-bipolar-2/975516.md?page=1)