Prevalence and factors associated of metabolic syndrome in first- treatment drug-naïve schizophrenia patients: a large-scale cross- sectional study

Abstract

Abstract Background: Patients with schizophrenia are at high risk of developing metabolic disorders, even prior to exposure to antipsychotic medication. The aim of this paper is to report on the prevalence of MetS in first-treatment drug-naïve schizophrenia patients and to further analyze the factors influencing of the MetS. Methods: A total of 668 patients with first-treatment drug-naïve schizophrenia were included in the present study. We report the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in the target population, compare the differences in demographic and general clinical information between two clinical subgroups with and without MetS, and analyze factors influencing MetS and its severity. Results: The prevalence of MetS in the target population was 10.93%. Univariate analysis showed significant differences in demographic and general clinical characteristics between the two clinical subgroups of MetS and non-MetS. The higher onset age of schizophrenia, female, total cholesterol (TC), red blood cell count (RBC) and white blood cell count (WBC) were risk factors for Mets, while free tetraiodothyronine (FT4) and the Clinical Global Impression Inventory-Severity of Illness (CGI-SI) were protective factors. Finally, we found that higher onset age of schizophrenia was a risk factor for MetS scores. Conclusion: The prevalence of MetS in primary treatment drug naïve patients with schizophrenia is not high, and many factors influence MetS in this group, with higher onset age of schizophrenia being an influential factor in MetS severity. We need to further investigate the overlapping effects of the schizophrenia illness itself and age on the effects of MetS.