Increased serum homocysteine in first episode and drug-naïve individuals with schizophrenia: sex differences and correlations with clinical symptoms

BMC Psychiatry

Research

Chunyu Li¹  Na Li²  Xu Yang³  Weiye Liang³  Haidong Yang⁴  Xiaobin Zhang⁵ 

[1] Clinical Laboratory, Beijing Hui Long Guan Hospital, Peking University Hui Long Guan Clinical Medical School, 100096, Beijing, People’s Republic of China;Department of Pathology, Beijing Kingmed Clinical Laboratory, Affiliated Peking University, 100015, Beijing, People’s Republic of China;Department of Psychiatry, Beijing Hui Long Guan Hospital, Peking University Hui Long Guan Clinical Medical School, 100096, Beijing, People’s Republic of China;Department of Psychiatry, The Fourth People’s Hospital of Lianyungang, The Affiliated KangDa College of Nanjing Medical University, 222003, Lianyungang, People’s Republic of China;Institute of Mental Health, Suzhou Psychiatric Hospital, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow University, 215137, Suzhou, People’s Republic of China;

关键词: Schizophrenia;    Homocysteine;    Sex difference;    Pathophysiology;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12888-022-04416-x

 received in 2022-07-29, accepted in 2022-11-23,  发布年份 2022

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAccumulating evidence shows that homocysteine (Hcy) is implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, and plays an important role in clinical characteristics. This study evaluated the relationships between Hcy levels and clinical features in first-episode, Chinese Han, drug-naïve (FEDN) patients with schizophrenia.MethodsFEDN individuals (119 with schizophrenia and 81 healthy controls matched for age, sex, education, and body mass index (BMI)) were enrolled. The serum Hcy levels were determined by enzyme cycle assay experiments. Severities of clinical symptoms were rated on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS).ResultsFEDN individuals with schizophrenia had higher Hcy levels compared with healthy controls (F = 46.865, P < 0.001). Correlation analysis and multiple stepwise regression analyses showed that serum Hcy levels in FEDN schizophrenia individuals were positively correlated with PANSS general psychopathology subscale (r = 0.294, P = 0.001) and PANSS total score (r = 0.273, P = 0.003). No significant association was found between Hcy and age, BMI, PANSS positive subscale, and the PANSS negative subscale (all, P > 0.05). Male individuals had significantly higher serum Hcy levels than female individuals (F = 7.717, P = 0.006) after controlling for confounding factors (F = 0.759, P = 0.011).ConclusionsSerum Hcy levels were increased in FEDN individuals with schizophrenia, and Hcy levels may be involved in pathophysiological mechanisms. Sex differences in Hcy levels were observed, with higher levels in male FEDN individuals compared to females.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2022

【 图 表 】

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