Body composition in patients with schizophrenia: Comparison with healthy controls

Recently, a relationship between obesity and schizophrenia has been reported. Although fat- mass and fat free mass have been shown to be more predictive of health risk than body mass index, there are limited findings about body composition among patients suffering from schizophrenia. The aim of this study is to compare the body composition of schizophrenia patients with that of healthy subjects in Japan.

We recruited patients (n = 204), aged 41.3 ± 13.8 (mean ± SD) years old with the DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia who were admitted to psychiatric hospital using a cross-sectional design. Subjects' anthropometric measurements including weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and medications were also collected. Body fat, percent (%) body fat, fat- free mass, muscle mass, and body water were measured using the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) method. Comparative analysis was performed with schizophrenic subjects and 204 healthy control individuals.

In a multiple regression model with age, body mass index, and dose in chlorpromazine equivalents, schizophrenia was a significantly linked with more body fat, higher % body fat, lower fat- free mass, lower muscle mass, and lower body water among males. In females, schizophrenia had a significant association with lower % body fat, higher fat- free mass, higher muscle mass, and higher body water.

Our data demonstrate gender differences with regard to changes in body composition in association with schizophrenia. These results indicate that intervention programs designed to fight obesity among schizophrenic patients should be individualized according to gender.