ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia patients have a higher prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) than normals. We examined the relationship between IGT and clinical phenotypes or cognitive deficits in first-episode, drug-naïve (FEDN) Han Chinese patients with schizophrenia. METHOD: A total of 175 in-patients were compared with 31 healthy controls on anthropometric measures and fasting plasma levels of glucose, insulin and lipids. They were also compared using a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test and the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Neurocognitive functioning was assessed using the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB). Patient psychopathology was assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). RESULTS: Of the patients, 24.5% had IGT compared with none of the controls, and they also had significantly higher levels of fasting blood glucose and 2-h glucose after an oral glucose load, and were more insulin resistant. Compared with those patients with normal glucose tolerance, the IGT patients were older, had a later age of onset, higher waist or hip circumference and body mass index, higher levels of low-density lipoprotein and triglycerides and higher insulin resistance. Furthermore, IGT patients had higher PANSS total and negative symptom subscale scores, but no greater cognitive impairment except on the emotional intelligence index of the MCCB. CONCLUSIONS: IGT occurs with greater frequency in FEDN schizophrenia, and shows association with demographic and anthropometric parameters, as well as with clinical symptoms but minimally with cognitive impairment during the early course of the disorder.
Subject(s)
Cognitive Dysfunction/physiopathology , Glucose Intolerance/metabolism , Schizophrenia/physiopathology , Schizophrenic Psychology , Adult , Age of Onset , Blood Glucose/metabolism , Body Mass Index , Case-Control Studies , Cognitive Dysfunction/complications , Cognitive Dysfunction/psychology , Fasting , Female , Glucose Intolerance/complications , Glucose Tolerance Test , Hospitalization , Humans , Insulin/metabolism , Insulin Resistance , Lipoproteins, LDL/metabolism , Male , Phenotype , Schizophrenia/complications , Triglycerides/metabolism , Waist Circumference , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Although patients with chronic schizophrenia have substantially higher smoking rates than either the general population or patients with other mental illnesses, drug-naive patients with a first episode of schizophrenia have received little systemic study. This study examined smoking rates, the association between smoking and symptom severity and cognitive function in Chinese first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients using cross-sectional and case-control designs. METHOD: Two hundred and forty-four drug-naive FES patients and 256 healthy controls matched for gender, age and education completed the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Patients were also rated on the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS). RESULTS: The rate and quantity of smoking were not significantly higher among FES patients compared to the general population. Among patients, smokers scored higher than non-smokers on the total PANSS and the positive symptom subscale scores. There were no significant associations between cognitive function and smoking in either FES patients or healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to studies in patients with chronic schizophrenia, drug-naive FES patients did not smoke more frequently than the general population. Furthermore, patients with psychotic disorders who smoked did not exhibit significant cognitive differences compared with those who did not smoke. However, smoking may have other detrimental effects on physical and mental health, for example on positive symptoms.