Research suggests that the chance of developing schizophrenia may be directly linked to how sunny it was in the months before a person's birth. Researchers believe that a lack of sunlight can lead to vitamin D deficiency and alter the development of a child's brain in the womb. The research, by the Queensland Centre of Schizophrenia Research in Brisbane, Australia, suggests people who develop schizophrenia in Europe and North America are more likely to have been born in the spring. The research is published in New Scientist. (BBC News Online 07/02/02)
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