---
title: "Psych News Alert: High Birth Weight May Be Linked to Schizophrenia"
description: Big babies may share an increased risk of eventually developing schizophrenia. Researchers in Finland investigated the link between birth we...
image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/weighthebaby_967033-Jun-24-2025-03-47-37-4344-PM.jpg
---

 6/24/24 11:16 AM

# High Birth Weight May Be Linked to Schizophrenia

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert)

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Big babies may share an increased risk of eventually developing schizophrenia. Researchers in Finland investigated the link between birth weight and schizophrenia in a large schizophrenia family study sample. They used the birth-weight data of 1,051 offspring from 315 Finnish families with at least one offspring with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. "Infants with a high birth weight are nearly twice as likely to develop schizophrenia as those born with a normal weight," they wrote in the December 30 *Psychiatry Research*. Using information from the Medication Reimbursement Register and patient interviews, they further investigated the association of maternal type 2 diabetes and schizophrenia risk among offspring. High birth weight (>4000g) was associated with a 1.68-fold increase in schizophrenia susceptibility. Maternal diabetes at time of data collection, a proxy for gestational diabetes, was associated with a 1.66-fold increase in the risk of schizophrenia among offspring.

The researchers said their results corroborate recent findings showing an association between high birth weight and schizophrenia and point to a potential birth-weight-independent association between maternal type 2 diabetes and schizophrenia among offspring.

For information about other factors common in children who later develop schizophrenia, see *[Psychiatric News](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=113523)*.

(Image: Francois Etienne du Plessis/Shutterstock.com)

[schizophrenia](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/schizophrenia), [diabetes](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/diabetes), [maternal type 2 diabetes](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/maternal-type-2-diabetes), [high birthweight](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/high-birthweight)

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Individuals with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder appear to be at an elevated risk of several...

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[schizophrenia](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/schizophrenia), [infection](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/infection), [maternal inflammation](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/maternal-inflammation)

## [Inflammation in Maternal Sera Linked to Schizophrenia in Offspring, Study Finds](https://alert.psychnews.org/2014/07/inflammation-in-maternal-sera-linked-to.html)

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