The data was cross-referenced with Israel’s national psychiatric case register, allowing researchers to follow participants for more than 30 years. During that period, 139 children in the maternal sample and 207 in the paternal sample were hospitalized with schizophrenia<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related Articles<\/p>\n Parents classified as “exposed” were of Jewish descent, born in European countries under Nazi rule, and immigrated after persecution had begun in their country of origin. They were divided into two groups according to their age when the persecution began: age 5 and younger, and older than 5. The control group consisted of Jewish parents of European descent who had not lived under Nazi rule.<\/p>\n “The decision to use age 5 as the cutoff wasn’t arbitrary,” Hochner explains. “It was based on two considerations. First, from a developmental psychology perspective, age 5 is when exposure to events and perception of reality become more significant. Second, there was a statistical consideration. Setting the cutoff at an older age would have significantly reduced the number of mothers and fathers eligible for the study.”<\/p>\n The study’s main finding was that even after controlling for a wide range of factors \u2013 including parents’ age, socioeconomic status, education, pregnancy complications, birth weight, delivery method and a maternal history of psychiatric hospitalization \u2013 children of mothers who were older than 5 during Nazi rule remained 2.38 times more likely to develop schizophrenia.<\/p>\n By contrast, the researchers found no increased risk among children whose mothers were 5 or younger when the Nazi persecutions began.<\/p>\n The incidence of schizophrenia was seven cases per 10,000 person-years among children of mothers exposed after age 5, compared with 2.7 cases among children whose mothers had not experienced the Holocaust. A maternal history of psychiatric hospitalization was also a significant risk factor, nearly quadrupling a child’s risk of schizophrenia. Low birth weight was likewise associated with an increased risk.<\/p>\n Prof. Hagit Hochner Credit: Itai Belson<\/p>\n Prof. Hagit HochnerCredit: Itai Belson<\/p>\n “Understanding how trauma experienced even before conception affects later generations can help us anticipate the long-term health consequences of wars. Given the growing number of wars and conflicts \u2013 including in our own region \u2013 we have a professional responsibility to investigate these effects.”<\/p>\n Prof. Hagit Hochner<\/p>\n![\"Prof.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/737416.jpg\" "\\"Prof.")
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