Late-onset schizophrenia typically shows which pattern of onset?

Late-onset schizophrenia typically shows which pattern of onset?

• A. Later with a second midlife peak.
• B. Early childhood onset.
• C. No gender differences.
• D. Onset only after age 60.

Answer: (A)

Late-onset schizophrenia is defined by when symptoms first emerge, and it often follows a bimodal pattern in age of onset: a primary peak in late adolescence/early adulthood and a second, separate peak in midlife. So the description of onset occurring later with a second midlife peak best captures late-onset schizophrenia. Other statements don’t fit as well: onset in early childhood would point to a much rarer early-onset form, saying there are no gender differences oversimplifies the pattern, and claiming onset only after age 60 ignores the common midlife second peak that characterizes late-onset cases.

Late-onset schizophrenia is defined by when symptoms first emerge, and it often follows a bimodal pattern in age of onset: a primary peak in late adolescence/early adulthood and a second, separate peak in midlife. So the description of onset occurring later with a second midlife peak best captures late-onset schizophrenia. Other statements don’t fit as well: onset in early childhood would point to a much rarer early-onset form, saying there are no gender differences oversimplifies the pattern, and claiming onset only after age 60 ignores the common midlife second peak that characterizes late-onset cases.