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Post by Jackson Nguyen MS4 on Jul 31, 2016 12:43:48 GMT -4
While it is true that cities may have an increased number of diagnosed Schizophrenics, I think one of the most important epidemiology things we have to take into account is confounding factors and correlating factors. There are many things that the study does not take into account such as the population per square mile of an urban vs rural area, the likelihood that people who live in urban areas will seek treatment, and the abundance of physicians available in urban vs rural areas. This is very important because correlation does not always equal causation. Yes, there may be a high correlation of schizophrenics and paranoia in cities, but city living may not cause these illnesses. They may just be more likely to be recognized and diagnosed. For instance, a schizophrenic and paranoid person who lives in the middle of nowhere will not be diagnosed as so, because they have no contact with anyone else besides their immediate surroundings, and hence will go without that diagnosis.
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Post by Somtochukwu Nwokoye on Jul 31, 2016 13:14:59 GMT -4
This was a good read. It posed the question of genetic influence on schizophrenia as a sole cause vs environmental or other factors. It initially went further to suggest that living in urban neighborhood or cities might be linked to psychosis. I am not sure how relationship can be proposed because as the article stated, there would be effects on other mental illnesses. Furthermore, if that were the case, I would think the data would be consistent across several cities across the world and not the few mentioned in the article. Regardless, it is hard to say definitively. In those with the propensity to develop schizophrenia, factors like social pressures may contribute to their migration to cities. One thing is clear however is that more research into establishing a direct link would reveal more on psychosis.
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Anirudh Lingamaneni (Ms3)
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Post by Anirudh Lingamaneni (Ms3) on Jul 31, 2016 21:10:57 GMT -4
Its a well know fact that the environment factors can influence certain type of conditions. It makes sense that schizophrenia and psychosis are seen more in urban area because of the tight knit area,lack of space and lighting. While urban housing projects tends to focus on accommodating as many people as possible, and cuts down on factors that lead to a more stressful environment. But I don't think its accurate to say that all urban area can lead to a increase in schizophrenia and psychosis. Many upscale and modern housing in city tend to have a lot of amenities and space which can potential reduce stress factors for Schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia is a complicated diagnosis with multiple factors that can lead to this diagnosis. While urban housing situation can be a associating factor, I don't think its the only reason. I think that more research needs to be completed in order to actually prove the theory that “cities cause madness”. While the article isn't fool proof it offer a good insight into urban housing and Schizophrenia, something which can potentially help physicians and patients alike in reducing stressful situations and Anxiety.
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Post by Arash Tirgan on Jul 31, 2016 22:02:45 GMT -4
Urban living and schizophrenia have been demonstrated to have a positive correlation in this article. The increase in rate of schizophrenia in urban areas have is mainly do to the increase use of drugs and alcohol in the urban population. This study aims at the multifactorial effects that attributed to the increased risk of psychosis. This article is not taking into affect that the rural populations do not have the hidden confounding variables that are seen in the bigger cities. The "social drift" phenomenon, takes into effect the positive correlation and the relation between social class and mental illness. But according to Amir S., the involvement of genetics may be a factored in the mix. My take is that it can also be that people in the urban setting can seek help for mental disorders more often than the population in the rural setting. Overall I felt that this was an interesting piece of article.
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Post by Vandan Upadhyaya on Jul 31, 2016 23:07:29 GMT -4
This article brings up a unique perspective on urbanization of population over the years. Statistics are showing that more and more population will be moving towards cities in the near future and this is an interesting viewpoint of how potentially this will have an affect on the incidence and prevalence of psychiatric illnesses.
One thing that I feel that the author did not address is whether or not those being in cities and urban areas are more likely to be diagnosed and recorded as being diagnosed as oppose to those in rural environments. Explained a different way, because your living in close quarters with others around you, you are more prone to be identified by someone else as having psychotic symptoms in comparison to those living on rural farms, where abnormal behavior may not easily by identified by another person. People in cities may also be more prone to seek help in comparison to those in a more suburban or rural settings.
In my own personal view, it is really hard to settle on the point on whether city living can be cause of schizophrenia. I understand that there is valid evidence showing there to be an environmental component to the disease as many of my classmates have pointed out, but there are so many other complexities to this diagnosis that I find it hard to believe whether a conclusion can even be drawn on this topic.
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Post by Charles Seaton on Aug 2, 2016 0:07:38 GMT -4
The article appears to be acknowledging the need for more nuanced study of the interplay between schizophrenia and associated elements insufficiently described as "environmental factors". In it, Vaughan Bell establishes the correlation between the incidence of schizophrenia and urbanicity and then goes on to question the nature of the relationship between them.
The writer considers physical (degree of tranquility), social (social isolation and social threat) and even genetic factors as possibly causes of the observed relationship. Bell also recognizes the possibility of the converse being true- the proposition that, in fact, the presence of schizophrenia may lead to emigration into urban areas.
However, the precise nature of the relationship between urbanicity and schizophrenia incidence has yet to be precisely characterized. Reading the article, for me, raised more questions than it provided answers. It appears, as was stated by another participant in the forum, that a multidisciplinary approach will be necessary to solve this conundrum and, that scholars should expect to discover a complex relationship between several factors associated with urban living and schizophrenia as opposed to a single defining measure...
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Post by Bimel Thomas (MS3) on Aug 9, 2016 18:22:57 GMT -4
In an eye-opening albeit inconclusive way, this article explores the nature vs. nurture debate in regards to schizophrenia, with emphasis on the effect of big city living and socioeconomic status. While it seems logical that urban environments are chock full of people, interaction, and a plethora of stimuli in general, I disagree to an extent with the notion that ‘cities cause madness’ simply because schizophrenia is a multifactorial disease that, despite ongoing research, is still poorly understood.
One aspect of the article I found particularly interesting was the fact that all other mental health problems (caused by depression, mood instability, etc.) did not show similar correlates according to the data; the increase was specific to schizophrenia. If anything, hopefully this finding alone is enough to increase conversation about, as well as motivation for, the very much needed research in this area. I would also be interested in reading about similar studies from other large cities around the world for comparison.
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Post by Katarzyna Goryl on Aug 25, 2016 11:04:13 GMT -4
The article is on key. So many peoples reasoning of moving to the suburbs is A)get away from stress or B) violence and gangs. Cities are usually made up of cramped busy blocks that lead a human psyche out of control. Cities also harvest allot of people compared to the country so comparing the two is not as valid. But it makes complete sense. People have to deal with stressors in their family life and their work life. Then they come home to traffic, noise, pollution. it really gives the body no time to rejuvenate mentally. The body can only take a beating so long before it starts to fall apart. Although people in cities have the city life as people call it. They are close to all the hangouts and maintenance free properties. Even though a person may not see or feel the signs and symptoms of his or her surroundings it really is slowly affecting them and within time they will seek professional help. Not saying the country wont drive a person to depression but the surrounding stressors in a city vastly outweigh the stressors in the country. KGMS3
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Post by poojak on Aug 27, 2016 12:38:33 GMT -4
I think this article applies to everyone living in big cities now a days. Even though living in a busy metropolitan city, can be considered very social and never a dull moment however, people often go unnoticed as everyone is busy in their own fast paced life. The phenomenon of urban alienation is very true because in a crowd a person can still feel alone. There are many tigers when living in an urban city which can lead to significant changes in ones personality. The contradicting theory is whether or not people with psychotic ideation are actually attracted to the urban cities. I think the closed environment of city life can be the cause of psychosis, however, there are many other factors such a s genetics that play a role in it. Also the reason why more people in urban cities are diagnosed with these illnesses could be because more of them have the advantage of a good healthcare system than people living in rural areas.
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