Some people may never be able to function without assistance. Approximately 2 million Americans develop schizophrenia during any given year. Men and women are affected with equal frequency. The first episodes are often seen in the teens or twenties in men and in the twenties or early thirties in women.
Schizophrenia is believed to have a genetic basis.
The children of a person with schizophrenia have about a 10 percent chance of developing schizophrenia. By comparison, the risk of schizophrenia in the general population is about 1 percent. There is a common misconception that schizophrenia is multiple personalities or a Dr. Jekyll-Mr. This is NOT accurate. In fact, multiple personality disorder is an entirely different disorder.