Mother’s Elevated CRP Level Predisposes the Fetus to Schizophrenia and Autism

​At the Department of Child Psychiatry of the University of Turku, researchers have studied how schizophrenia and autism are related to the fetus and child’s development. The research was carried out as collaboration between Finnish and American researchers and it was funded by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The results were published in the leading journals in psychiatry, American Journal of Psychiatry and Molecular Psychiatry.

‒ Schizophrenia and autism are partly hereditary but also the developmental factors are important. At the moment, significant interest is paid to the environmental factors during pregnancy that can affect the development of the fetus’ brain and predispose the child to neuropsychiatric disorders, says Professor Andre Sourander from the University of Turku.

The other leading researcher in the project is the Director of the Prenatal Serology Laboratory, Docent Heljä-Maria Surcel from the National Institute for Health and Welfare.

Infections during Pregnancy One of Many Factors

The researchers studied the C-reactive protein (CRP) inflammatory markers which reveal both acute and chronic inflammations. According to the research, elevated CRP level can be linked to schizophrenia. With autism, the link is less strong. On the other hand, the researchers note that a slightly elevated CRP level can be related to other factors, like mother’s autoimmune diseases, medication and depression.

‒ A single factor alone cannot explain the onset of disorders: infections during pregnancy are one risk factor among many. The connection of heredity to psychiatric disorders is complicated. Certain hereditary factors can be risk factors in the onset of the disease but it can also develop by the joint effect of hereditary and environmental factors. The brain develops from the fetal period onwards and is susceptible to the effect of the environment in different ways, says Sourander.

Identifying the Risk Factors Basis for Prevention

The research results are based on the FiPS-Sch (Finnish Prenatal Study of Schizophrenia) and FiPS-Autism (Finnish Prenatal Study of Autism) projects which are studying the risk factors of the central neuropsychiatric disorders during pregnancy and early development. The Finnish population serum samples used in the research have been taken at the end of the first trimester of the pregnancy and the cohorts are followed into adulthood. In Finland, there is an exceptional opportunity to research the risk factors during pregnancy and early development because of the extensive population data.

‒ In the future, we are better equipped to recognise the biological and developmental factors that increase the risk of the onset of the disorder. Knowledge of these factors is the basis for recognising the children who are in the greatest risk. Prevention should be targeted especially to these risk groups. It is very important in preventing the risks of neuropsychiatric disorders that the pregnancy is well cared for and that the mother’s mental health as well as the child’s development are supported, says Sourander.

It is also important to recognise the children who are predisposed to the risk factors and displaying symptoms. For example, it has been proven that the earlier an autistic child’s rehabilitation starts the better the results.

The research studies the connection of neuropsychiatric disorders with the disorders of the family members in three generations. For instance, the family members of autistics children are more likely to have neuropsychiatric disorders compared with the control group.

‒ At the moment, we are interested in what kind of common risk factors do different neuropsychiatric disorders have and what factors are specifically connected to certain disorders such as autism, ADD, OCD or learning disabilities.

>> The Department of Child Psychiatry web pages

Text: Pia-Sofia Yrjölä
Photo: Hanna Oksanen
Translation: Mari Ratia