Sex differences in age of symptom onset and first hospitalization in schizophrenia.

Sex differences in the age at symptom onset and first hospitalization in typical schizophrenia, schizophreniform psychosis, and paranoid psychosis are examined. Male schizophrenics were significantly younger than females at both onset and admission, irrespective of schizophrenic type; the disparity did not occur for paranoid psychotics. Implications of these findings for the differential etiology of schizophrenia in the sexes, and the need for the early identification of and intervention in typical schizophrenia, are discussed.