Craniofacial measures and minor physical anomalies in patients with schizophrenia in a cohort of Serbian population

Abstract

Introduction/Objective. Craniofacial dysmorphology has been shown as the most prominent among physical anomalies in schizophrenia patients. The aim of the present study was to investigate the frequency of craniofacial anomalies in Serbian schizophrenia patients. Methods. A list of 27 minor physical anomalies (modified Waldrop scale) and nine ratios of craniofacial measures was used to detect the presence of craniofacial dysmorphology in 126 schizophrenia patients and 124 healthy controls. Results. Compared to the healthy subjects, schizophrenia patients had significantly higher rates of the following minor physical anomalies: fine hair, two or more hair whorls, fused eyebrows, wide nose basis, low-seated ears, high steepled and high flat palate, and furrowed tongue (most prevalent were vertical fissures and diffusely distributed fissures) with significance of p ≤ 0.001. The best predicting parameters for distinguishing between schizophrenics and controls were the inner canthus distance, the outer canthus distance, hair whorls (all at level p = 0.000), and high steepled palate (p ≤ 0.001). Conclusion. The results of the present study confirm the neurodevelopmental concept of schizophrenia, being potentially useful for further psychiatric-anthropological research. Clinical significance is reflected in the possibility of monitoring the potential mental illness in childhood through potential ectodermal markers, as well as the possibility of their comparison with the psychological profile in early adolescence.

Keywords

• minor malformations
• phenogenetic variants
• facial morphometry
• schizophrenia phenotype
• facial disproportion