Elevated Maternal Interleukin-8 Levels and Risk of Schizophrenia in Adult Offspring

Using prospectively collected prenatal sera in a large and well-characterized birth cohort, the authors have documented a significant association between maternal IL-8 level during the second trimester and risk of schizophrenia spectrum disorders in the offspring. These findings provide further support for a substantive role of in utero infection or inflammation in the etiology of schizophrenia. Moreover, these results may have important implications for elucidating the mechanisms by which disrupted fetal development raises the risk of this disorder.