A study published recently in the Frontiers in Psychiatry journal by Kehuang Li et al linked the occurrence of dyslipidemia with early onset schizophrenia in children and adolescents.
Early-onset schizophrenia (EOS) is a rare psychological disease that manifests before adulthood, or 18 years of age. It accounts for 4% of all schizophrenia cases, and has posed significant therapeutic challenges in the past.
EOS is treated by regimes of antipsychotic medications, unwanted side-effects of which can lead to patients becoming overweight, obese, or developing dyslipidemia, which is characterized by abnormal levels of fat in the blood. In the long-term, dyslipidemia can cause significant cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases.
The study linking the two was conducted over 32 months on 289 pediatric and adolescent patients undergoing inpatient treatment in a hospital in China. Analysis of these patients aged 10-18 years old involved the measurement of total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and non-HDL cholesterol, assessed by blood draws.
Variances in gender, body-mass index (BMI), and anti-psychotic medication regimens were accounted for while collating results. Furthermore, investigators noted body-roundness index (BRI) and triglyceride glucose (TyG) emerged as important assessment tools during the study.
It was discovered that the prevalence of dyslipidemia was 24.9% in the observed patients, a clinically significant correlation given the sample population size. Of these, male patients showed higher abnormal levels of triglycerides and LDL-cholesterol than females, which may be caused by puberty-associated changes, or incidences of eosinophilia.
Genetic factors were also found to play a role, and five different single-nucleotide polymorphisms were linked to medication-induced dyslipidemia. Additionally, the study found that combination therapies of antipsychotic medications was an added risk factor in developing dyslipidemia. The investigators strongly recommended monotherapy treatments, if feasible, to minimize metabolic risks.
While the study was conducted over a substantial period of time, the authors acknowledged geographic limitations. They stressed the need for further monitoring of pediatric EOS patients to establish a universal link between dyslipidemia and early onset schizophrenia.
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