Double Barr Bodies in Women in Mental Hospitals

Abstract

Sex chromatin studies of the mentally defective have revealed a higher than average prevalence of positive sex chromatin among retarded males, and of double Barr bodies among retarded females (Prader et al., 1958; Israelsohn and Taylor, 1961; Maclean et al., 1962; Anderson et al., 1964; and others). It is not yet clear whether mentally defective women also contain an unusually large number with the XO constitution. That mild mental deficiency is a common accompaniment of an XYY constitution in males has been shown recently (Jacobs et al., 1965; Casey et al., 1966; Price et al., 1966). As yet no epidemiological studies have been reported on the XYY constitution.