S chizophrenia is a psychosis characterized by personality and thought disorganization, and it affects an estimated 1 percent of all people.
Schizophrenics occupy more mental hospital beds than patients with any other single diagnosis.
The disorder crosses lines of gender, ethnicity and intelligence. Its causes are unknown, but the disorder has been associated with family environment, in utero brain damage, birth trauma and a genetic factor as yet undefined. The term schizophrenia was coined by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler. The split in schizophrenia refers to the discrepancy between thinking and feeling.