The relationship between inflammation and cognitive function in drug-naïve schizophrenia with or without...

Inflammation has been linked to cognitive function in schizophrenia (SCZ), but no studies have examined the impact of pre-metabolic syndrome (pre-MetS) on this relationship. Herein, we aimed to investigate their relationship in drug-naïve SCZ from a novel perspective.

We conducted a cross-sectional study of 228 drug-naïve SCZ, divided into pre-MetS and non-pre-MetS groups. Blood samples were collected to measure the markers, including fasting plasma glucose (FPG), cholesterol (CHO), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), C-reactive protein (CRP), CRP-albumin ratio (CAR), and neutrophils-lymphocytes ratio (NLR). MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) was used to assess cognitive function. Partial correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between the markers and cognitive function.

Patients with pre-MetS exhibited significant differences from those in the non- pre-MetS group on five dimensions of cognitive function (P < 0.05). In the pre-MetS group, FPG, TG, HDL and NLR were all significantly correlated with cognitive function (P < 0.05), and the combined HDL and NLR showed good performance in identifying cognitive impairment with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.712. In the non-pre-MetS group, CRP and CAR were significantly correlated with cognitive function (P < 0.05), and the combination of CRP and CAR had a better ability to identify cognitive impairment (AUC = 0.744).

Patients with pre-MetS have more cognitive impairment. These findings provide insights into the different mechanisms by which inflammation is involved in the process of cognitive impairment in SCZ with and without pre-MetS.