Schizophrenia and Autoimmunity

The Link Between Autoimmune Diseases and Mental Disorders

Oct 12, 2007 Elaine Moore

Patients with schizophrenia and their parents have a higher risk of certain autoimmune diseases, particularly thyroid disorders and celiac disease.

In an article published in the March 2006 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry, Dr. William Eaton and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore Maryland examined the association between schizophrenia and autoimmune diseases. In the study, researchers examined the records of 7704 people older than 15 years diagnosed with schizophrenia between 1981 and 1998 and also their parents, along with a random sampling of people in the general population and their parents which served as controls.

An Autoimmune Disease History

From the data studied researchers found that people with a history of one or more autoimmune diseases had a 45 percent higher risk of schizophrenia. In addition, patients with schizophrenia had a higher prevalence of nine specific autoimmune disorders, including celiac disease, autoimmune thyroid disorders, acquired hemolytic anemia, Sjogren’s syndrome, chronic active hepatitis, alopecia areata, interstitial cystitis (bladder condition characterized by urinary frequency and pelvic pain), polymyalgia rheumatic, myositis, and type 1 diabetes, compared to control subjects.

The parents of the schizophrenic patients had a higher prevalence of 12 specific autoimmune disorders including Graves’ disease, thyroiditis, celiac disease, psoriasis, intestinal malabsorption, acquired hemolytic anemia, interstitial cystitis, celiac disease, and Sjogren’s syndrome. Overall, patients and their relatives had either higher or lower than expected prevalences of certain autoimmune disorders. For instance, although patients with schizophrenia had a higher incidence of the autoimmune disorders listed here, they had a much lower incidence of certain autoimmune disorders, particularly rheumatoid arthritis.

Top Five Autoimmune Disorders Associated with Schizophrenia

Five autoimmune disorders appeared more frequently in patients with schizophrenia and also their parents prior to their onset of schizophrenia. These disorders included

• Graves’ disease
• Intestinal malabsorption
• Acquired hemolytic anemia
• Interstitial cystitis
• Sjogren’s syndrome

Reasons for The Association

Theories on the autoimmune aspects of schizophrenia are focused around the notion of early infection with microorganisms that mimic the tissue antigens of the central nervous system, causing the production of antibodies (autoantibodies) against these components. Studies have also shown evidence of a genetic locus for schizophrenia in the area of the human leukocyte antigens (HLA) suggesting that schizophrenia could have an autoimmune origin. Another theory states that treatments used for autoimmune disorders could possibly trigger the onset of schizophrenia.

The Celiac Disease Connection

An association between celiac disease and schizophrenia was first reported in 1961. The psychiatric and neurological symptoms that are sometimes seen in celiac disease may result from nutrient deficiencies. However, researchers suspect that gluten protein (found in wheat, rye, and barley) may precipitate schizophrenia in some individuals. A strong link between gluten sensitivity eneropathy or celiac disease and autism has also been previously established.

Resources:

William W. Eaton, Majella Byrne, Henrik Ewald, Ole Mors, Chuan-Yu Chen, Esben Agerbo, and Preben Bo Mortensen, Association of Schizophrenia and Autoimmune Diseases: Linkage of Danish National Registers, 163:521-528, March 2006.

Jaquelyn McCandless, Children with Starving Brains, A Medical Treatment Guide for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Third Edition, Bramble Books, 2007.

The copyright of the article Schizophrenia and Autoimmunity in General Medicine is owned by Elaine Moore. Permission to republish Schizophrenia and Autoimmunity in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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Jan 3, 2009 2:35 PM

Guest :

My son has schizophrenia ever since he was 15 years old, now he is 20. One of my daughters, I believe, has ADHD, endometrosis, and depression. My other daughter has a borderline mental retardedness with anger problems. Anyway, I have been researching food allergies recently because of my problem. I believe I have a gluten allergy and I believe my mother and my grandmother probably did also. My symptoms through the years have been constipation treated with a increase in fiber, exercise, etc., but recently I have been experiencing bloatedness, severe constipation everytime I eat bread, pizza, anything with gluten. I wondered whether a gluten allergy through the generations could have caused the problems with my children as well as myself. My son is being treated via schizophrenia medication, but I wondered if there is hope that if there is a correction in the diet eliminating gluten, would he be able to improve as well as all of us? What recent research has been done on the link between food allergies such as gluten and mental and physical disorders that you know of? Pam O.

Jan 3, 2009 5:06 PM

Elaine Moore :

Hi Pam,
I have several articles on gluten sensitivity with references to research on this topic. Especially see this article autoimmunedisease.suite101.com/article.cfm/atypical_celiac_disease_ symptoms
on atypical symptoms of celiac disease.
It used to be that an intestinal biopsy showing damage to the villi was needed to confirm celiac disease. Now, it's known that there are many variants, with a wide degree of disease severity and symptoms, seen in people with gluten sensitivity. Many experts feel that any positive test result for gliadin, endomysial or tissue transglutaminase enzymes suggests gluten sensitivity. When I suspected I had gluten sensitivity, I knew it would be hard to avoid gluten (protein in wheat, rye and barley) without confirming the problem. These antibody tests, particularly a positive IgG gliadin antibody test, confirmed my suspicions.

If you decide to avoid wheat and then have the tests, they'll be negative in a short time. So if you decide to eliminate gluten and then have the tests you'll need to go back to eating gluten to see positive results. Some experts also consider this a challenge. That is, if you feel better after eliminating gluten and then notice a return of symptoms when you resume eating it, this is highly suggestive of gluten sensitivity.Best, Elaine

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