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Schizophrenia is the price we pay for minds poised near the edge of a cliff

(www.psychiatrymargins.com)
262 points Anon84 | 3 comments | 28 Jun 25 21:22 UTC | HN request time: 0.853s | source
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drgo ◴[29 Jun 25 04:40 UTC] No.44410403[source]▶
Is it possible that the pro-schizophrenia genes persist because they offer other (non-neurological) benefits, e.g., lower risk of cancer? Siblings of patients with schizophrenia are less likely to develop cancer, and in several studies these patients had lower risk of developing cancer despite higher prevalence of smoking.
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FollowingTheDao ◴[29 Jun 25 04:59 UTC] No.44410474[source]▶
There’s no such thing as a “pro schizophrenia genes”. There are only genes that increase the risk of schizophrenia, and this is probably due to environmental variables.

Exchanging a risk for cancer for a risk of schizophrenia is not a win-win situation. You’re just switching one set of risk genes for another.

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1. ekaryotic ◴[29 Jun 25 14:44 UTC] No.44413572[source]▶
>Exchanging a risk for cancer for a risk of schizophrenia is not a win-win situation But it can be though. Consider a population that works with carcinogens like coal. due to capitalist class structures, they cannot leave their occupation, so a gene that would increase their survivability would be a great help.
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2. dustbunny ◴[29 Jun 25 15:20 UTC] No.44413817[source]▶
Schizophrenia is far more likely to prevent you from reproducing than cancer, because schizophrenia hits way earlier.
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3. FollowingTheDao ◴[29 Jun 25 16:39 UTC] No.44414393[source]▶
Yes, this is what I was going to comment, and adding that it was funny they used a coal miner as an example since my family side that has the mood disorders were all coal miners in central PA.