Among the highest incidences of schizophrenia is the one documented in second-generation migrants of African descent in the Western countries. Interestingly, people of African and European ancestry demonstrate significant genetic-based differences in immune system regulation and response. As a result, the pro-inflammatory phenotype is more pronounced in people of African descent than it is in Europeans. At the same time, the role of the immune system in the etiology of schizophrenia is gaining increased recognition. Here, we propose that the population-specific genetic variation within the immune system interacts with unfavourable environments to contribute to a higher risk of schizophrenia in people of African ancestry. Our hypothesis is supported by recent findings from two separate fields of research-population genetics and psychoneuroimmunology. Moreover, we highlight the need to include African populations in genetic studies of schizophrenia. © 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.

population genetics descent inflammation ancestry Psychosis

genetics schizophrenia Caucasian race difference human priority journal nonhuman African ethnology Humans migrant Black person African Continental Ancestry Group environmental factor risk factor population research immunology Article immunoregulation genetic risk psychoneuroimmunology population genetics migration environmental stress genetic variation European Continental Ancestry Group immune system immune response Transients and Migrants pathophysiology