Polydactyly and psychosis. Five cases of co-occurrence.

Cardno, A G; Murphy, K C; Jones, L A; Cobb, A M; Gray, J; McGuffin, P; Owen, M J · Br J Psychiatry · 1998

case_report · Level V

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Abstract

Abnormalities presumed to occur during foetal life have been associated with schizophrenia. Polydactyly is a developmental abnormality but no previous association has been reported between polydactyly and functional psychotic illness. Individuals with both polydactyly and a functional psychosis were ascertained during a study of familial schizophrenia. Five such individuals were ascertained in the course of assessing 234 individuals with familial psychosis, giving a rate of polydactyly in the sample of around 10 times the general population rate. This study provides preliminary evidence that polydactyly is over-represented in individuals with familial schizophrenia and related psychotic illnesses.

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