Inflammation Linked to Depression in Schizophrenia Patients

Higher C-reactive protein (CRP) levels are associated with depressive symptoms in schizophrenia patients, but not with antidepressant consumption, according to a recent study.

Depressive symptoms are common among individuals with schizophrenia, and CRP levels are typically higher in both individuals with schizophrenia and in individuals with depressive symptoms. However, little is known about the association between CRP levels and depressive symptoms in relation to schizophrenia.
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For their study, the researchers evaluated 307 patients with schizophrenia. Mean patient age was 35.74 years, and 69.1% of patients were men. Patients were categorized as having either normal CRP levels (below 3.0 mg/L) or high CRP levels (above 3.0 mg/L).

Patients’ current medication use was recorded. The Calgary Depression Rating Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS) was used to assess depressive symptoms.

A total of 124 patients (40.4%) had high CRP levels. Following adjustment for confounding factors, results indicated that patients with high CRP levels had higher CDSS scores compared with those with normal CRP levels. The researchers noted that CRP levels were not associated with antidepressant use.

“This study found an association between high rates of CRP levels and depressive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia, but no association with antidepressant consumption,” the researchers concluded. “Further studies are needed to investigate the impact of inflammation in schizophrenia.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Faugere M, Micoulaud-Franchi JA, Faget-Agius C, et al. High C-reactive protein levels are associated with depressive symptoms in schizophrenia [Published online September 8, 2017]. J Affective Disord.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.09.004.