ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Schizophrenia
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1574041
This article is part of the Research TopicUnraveling the Nexus of Inflammatory Biomarkers and Cognitive Dysfunction in Schizophrenia: Implications for Treatment and Disease ProgressionView all 5 articles
Obesity, cytokines and psychopathology in patients with chronic schizophrenia
Provisionally accepted
- 1CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
- 2Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China
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Background: Obesity and dysregulated cytokine levels are prevalent in schizophrenia patients undergoing antipsychotic treatment. While cytokines are implicated in obesity, their relationship with psychopathology in schizophrenia remains underexplored. This study investigated associations between body mass index (BMI), cytokine levels, and clinical symptoms in chronic schizophrenia patients.In this cross-sectional study,201chronic schizophrenia patients (Chinese Han population) were stratified into high BMI (BMI≥25kg/m 2 ) and low BMI (BMI<25kg/m 2 ) groups. Psychopathology was assessed using the Positive and negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Serum cytokine (IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α) and metabolic parameters were measured in 69 participants.Results: A significant negative correlation was observed between BMI and IL-2(p=0.013). TNF-α levels inversely correlated with PANSS total (p=0.010) and general psychopathology scores(p=0.042). The high BMI group exhibited lower PANSS negative subscores and elevated glucose, triglycerides (TG) and apolipoprotein B (ApoB) compared to the low BMI group(all p<0.05). Multivariate regression identified IL-2 as an independent factor associated with lower BMI, while TNF-α independently contributed to general psychopathology.Higher BMI in chronic schizophrenia is associated with reduced IL-2 levels, attenuated negative symptoms, and adverse lipid profiles. TNF-α may modulate psychopathology severity. These findings highlight complex interactions between metabolic dysregulation, immune markers, and clinical manifestations in schizophrenia.
Keywords: Schizophrenia, cytokine, Obesity, Lipid profiles, PANSS
Received: 10 Feb 2025; Accepted: 26 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, lv, wang, he, wang, tan and li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xiang Yang Zhang, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China
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