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Sarnoff A. Mednick, PhD, DM
Psykologisk Institute Kommunehospitalet 1399 Copenhagen, Denmark

Ricardo A. Machón, PhD
Department of Psychology Loyola Marymount University 7101 W 80th St Los Angeles, CA 90045

Matti O. Huttunen, MD
Department of Psychiatry University of Helsinki Lapinlahdentie, SF 00180 Helsinki, Finland

Christopher E. Barr, MA
Social Science Research Institute University of Southern California DRB 101, MC 1111 Los Angeles, CA 90089-1111

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1990;47(9):875-876.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

Kendell and Kemp¹ conclude that the three studies they report do not support the influenza A virus hypothesis in schizophrenia. We cannot accept their conclusions due to serious inadequacies in their data sources and methods.

Kendell and Kemp reason that the severe June and November 1918 and March 1919 influenza epidemics that devastated Scotland should have increased the rate of schizophrenia among those exposed during gestation. To identify people with schizophrenia born in 1918 and 1919, they used a national Scottish register of psychiatric hospitalizations. They inspected their data visually and concluded that there was no increase in the number of people born with schizophrenia in 1918 and 1919. For the period in question, however, the register did not record date of birth; only the patient's report of his or her age was recorded. Year of birth was calculated by subtracting the age reported from the . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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