Online Photo: Hura, S. (Photographer). (nd.). Life Is Elsewhere [digital image]. Retrieved from http://www.photobookstore.co.uk/photobook-life-is-elsewhere.html#.WP4kXVMrLBI
Geography
By: Alexis T.
Question of Health: Does the location in which one is born and raised have an effect on the development of Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a debilitating mental disorder that causes one’s mind to split from reality. Schizophrenia is a multifactorial disease meaning it’s development is influenced by many things. One of the main factors in the development of schizophrenia is location. Location can be where someone was born or raised. The factors that could cause the correlation between location and schizophrenia are the development of the country one lives in, urbanization, stress, drug abuse, and genetics. Living in an underdeveloped country causes an increase in the chance of developing schizophrenia. Being born and raised in an urban area is one of the biggest factors influencing schizophrenia development. Stress changes white matter in the brain, changes that are associated with schizophrenia and drug abuse causes a great increase of dopamine in the brain, a huge cause of the most detrimental symptoms of schizophrenia. Genetics can increase or decrease the risk of developing schizophrenia depending on where one is raised. All of these factors are a result of location and all of them heavily influenced by location. The factor of location is important because this is something that can be changed to help prevent the development of schizophrenia. Active research into this factor is important in determining ways to prevent schizophrenia.
This is a graph that shows serious mental illness by different regions of the United States. These statistics show that in 2008-2012 the Midwest had the highest rate of serious mental illness in the U.S. It is only in 2012 that Southern areas grow to the highest rate of mental illness in America. The Northeast remained consistently the lowest when it came to mental health. The West remained very consistent, just going up with the rest of the nation. The United States was pretty consistent in staying close to what all the other regions had.
Income Gap
By: Cameron A
Question of Health: How could areas with large income gaps affect the risk of Schizophrenia?
Question of Health: How could areas with large income gaps affect the risk of Schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder characterized by one's "split from reality". It is multi factorial and is to be caused by environmental, societal, and genetic factors. One of it's many causes is income inequality, which is characterized by the uneven distribution of income throughout a population. In a study done by the world bank between 26 countries, the countries with higher income gaps may contain a higher risk of Schizophrenia. That higher risk of Schizophrenia can be caused by the societal and environmental stress caused by that high income gap. The income inequity causes chronic stress associated with high living disparate societies causing a higher risk for Schizophrenia. The stress from the income inequity is a huge factor in the development of Schizophrenia in the human mind. Over time, as stress builds up, it not only affects the brain, but causes the brain to over produce a chemical called dopamine. Dopamine affects the thalamus and striatum parts of the brain which helps one decipher real and not real. Drug usage is very prevalent in lower income communities which can lead to a higher risk factor for Schizophrenia. That is due to the long term effects of cannabis and marijuana on the brain and how it can easily trigger Schizophrenia on top of one's brain chemistry. An overabundance of the gene DRD2 and other genes involving glutamatergic neurotransmission can lead to Schizophrenia on a genetic level. The gene DRD2 can also be found in drug abusers and alcoholics as aforementioned and discussed earlier. Both of these factors correlate to each other and correlate as significant factors as to why Schizophrenia is caused by the income gap.
The graph represents the frequency of Schizophrenia for each country in correlation to the income equality. Israel has the highest incidence of Schizophrenia out of the rest of the coutries although it's income equality is quite average compared to the rest. Norway leads with the lowest incidence of Schizophrenia with a relatively low Income Equality gap. The graph stays pretty consistant as it's slope is positive showing easy correlation between the x and y axis values.
Crime Rates and Trauma
By: Nancy I.
Question/ Statement of Health: Different levels of environmental stress, such as high crime rates in certain areas, and traumatic events increase the likelihood that schizophrenia will develop.
Schizophrenia can be summarized as a long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behavior, leading to faulty perception and withdrawal from reality. Symptoms include: delusions, hallucinations, disordered thinking and speech, and disorganized behavior. Additionally, one can experience positive symptoms, negative symptoms, or disorganized symptoms. Different levels of environmental stress, such as high crime rates in certain areas, and traumatic events increase the likelihood that schizophrenia will develop. There are biological aspects to this disorder; however, the cause of schizophrenia are also dependent of environmental factors. Based on which type of environmental factor a patient of schizophrenia is exposed to, the severity of the disease can vary, which is why no two cases are the same. Studies have revealed that crime rates depending on where you live and traumatic events that have occurred in your life are some of the more prevalent reasons schizophrenia may become more likely to develop. However there is not one real cause of schizophrenia as many have developed it in different situations.
This graph shows the correlation between the number of people who died from their mental illness decoded by race and sex to their location by state in 2012 (in the northern states). The graph has a very wide range of those who died from their mental illness, and it ties into the environmental inequities they might face. According to the graph, the total number of deaths due to mental disorders is extremely high in Pennsylvania, whereas it is not nearly as high in Missouri. Therefore, this could mean that there are more risks for those with mental disorders in Pennsylvania than in other northern states.