Predictive value of C-reactive protein and hematologic ratios for metabolic syndrome in schizophrenia

This study aimed to examine the association between the inflammatory biomarkers-C-reactive protein (CRP), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte-ratio (PLR), and monocyte-lymphocyte ratio (MLR)-and metabolic status in a sample of patients with schizophrenia. We tested the hypothesis that individuals with schizophrenia exhibit a high prevalence of metabolic alterations, and that these inflammatory biomarkers are associated with a greater number of metabolic risk factors and the presence of metabolic syndrome (MetS), after adjusting for potential confounders.

A total of 541 participants with a DSM-5 diagnosis of a schizophrenia spectrum disorder at any illness phase were included. We analyzed inflammatory markers and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to determine their predictive utility for MetS.

Patients with higher NLR and CRP levels and lower PLR values exhibited a more severe metabolic profile. ROC analysis identified CRP and PLR as the most effective predictors of MetS, with optimal cut-off points of 2.87mg/L for CRP (sensitivity, 70%; specificity, 54%) and 80.7 for PLR (sensitivity, 71%; specificity, 60%).

Screening CRP levels and inflammatory ratios is a cost-effective and easily implementable practice that may facilitate the early identification of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders at risk of developing metabolic complications.