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Comparative Study
. 2009 Mar;35(2):437-42.
doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbn169. Epub 2009 Mar 11.

Telomere length and pulse pressure in newly diagnosed, antipsychotic-naive patients with nonaffective psychosis

Emilio Fernandez-Egea  1 , Miguel Bernardo, Christopher M Heaphy, Jeffrey K Griffith, Eduard Parellada, Enric Esmatjes, Ignacio Conget, Linh Nguyen, Varghese George, Hubert Stöppler, Brian Kirkpatrick
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Telomere length and pulse pressure in newly diagnosed, antipsychotic-naive patients with nonaffective psychosis

Emilio Fernandez-Egea et al. Schizophr Bull. 2009 Mar.

Abstract

Introduction: Recent studies suggest that in addition to factors such as treatment side effects, suicide, and poor health habits, people with schizophrenia may have an increased risk of diabetes prior to antipsychotic treatment. Diabetes is associated with an increased pulse pressure (PP) and a shortened telomere. We tested the hypothesis that prior to antipsychotic treatment, schizophrenia and related disorders are associated with a shortened telomere, as well as an increased PP.

Methods: Telomere content (which is highly correlated with telomere length) and PP were measured in newly diagnosed, antipsychotic-naive patients with schizophrenia and related disorders on first clinical contact and in matched control subjects. Both groups were also administered an oral glucose tolerance test.

Results: Compared with control subjects, the patients with psychosis had decreased telomere content and an increased PP. As previously reported, they also had increased glucose concentrations at 2 hours. These differences could not be attributed to differences in age, ethnicity, smoking, gender, body mass index, neighborhood of residence, socioeconomic status, aerobic conditioning, or an increased cortisol concentration in the psychotic subjects.

Discussion: These results suggest that prior to antipsychotic use, nonaffective psychosis is associated with reduced telomere content and increased PP, indices that have been linked to an increased risk of diabetes and hypertension.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Telomere Content in Newly Diagnosed, Antipsychotic-Naive Patients with Nonaffective Psychosis and Matched Control Subjects. Telomere content is highly correlated with telomere length; both groups are standardized to a reference set at 100 (see text). The patients had significantly less telomere content (P = .011).
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Pulse Pressure (mm Hg) in Newly Diagnosed, Antipsychotic-Naive Patients with Nonaffective Psychosis and Matched Control Subjects. The patients had a significantly higher mean pulse pressure (P = .003).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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