Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a psychiatric condition that has severe effects on your physical and mental well-being. It disrupts how your brain works, interfering with things like your thoughts, memory, senses and behaviors. As a result, you may struggle in many parts of your day-to-day life. Untreated schizophrenia often disrupts your relationships (professional, social, romantic and otherwise). It can also cause you to have trouble organizing your thoughts, and you might behave in ways that put you at risk for injuries or other illnesses.

What are the types of schizophrenia?

Psychiatrists once referred to different types of schizophrenia, like paranoid schizophrenia and catatonic schizophrenia. But the types weren’t very useful in diagnosing or treating schizophrenia. Instead, experts now view schizophrenia as a spectrum of conditions, including:

• Schizotypal personality disorder (which also falls under the category of personality disorders).
• Delusional disorder.
• Brief psychotic disorder.
• Schizophreniform disorder.
• Schizoaffective disorder.
• Other schizophrenia spectrum disorders (specified or unspecified). This diagnosis allows healthcare providers to diagnose unusual variations of schizophrenia.

Who does it affect?

Schizophrenia starts between ages 15 and 25 for men and people assigned male at birth (AMAB) and between 25 and 35 for women and people assigned female at birth (AFAB). It also tends to affect men and women in equal numbers. About 20% of new schizophrenia cases occur in people over age 45. These cases tend to happen more in men and people AMAB.

Schizophrenia in children is rare but possible. When schizophrenia does start in childhood, it’s usually more severe and harder to treat.

How common is schizophrenia?

Schizophrenia is a somewhat common condition. Worldwide, it affects 221 in every 100,000 people.