Serum Level of Inflammatory Markers in Patients with Schizophrenia Attending a Tertiary Service in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Date
2016-08
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Addis Ababa Universty
Abstract
Introduction: -Accumulating evidence indicates that schizophrenia is accompanied by an
activation of the immune/inflammatory system. But there is limited data from low and middleincome
countries like Ethiopia. Inflammatory markers may even be more important in these
settings where infectious conditions may have more prominent role in the causation and
maintenance of schizophrenia.
Objective: - To assess the level of inflammatory markers in patients with schizophrenia.
Materials and methods - The level of inflammatory markers among patients with
schizophrenia were compared with non-affected control groups. The study population consisted
of a total 132 study participants, including 82 with schizophrenia and 50 control subjects. High
sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and Interleukin-6(IL-6) were measured using Cobas e 411
and Cobas Intgera 400 Plus analysers at EPHI. Linear regression was used to adjust for
confounders in estimating the level of inflammatory markers. The study was conducted from
January 2015 to March 2016.
Results: - The levels of hsCRP were significantly increased in patients with schizophrenia when
compared to control groups (B=; 95% CI=; p=0.003), and also there were significant
differences in IL-6 were found in the patients with schizophrenia when compared control groups
(B=; 95% CI=; p=0.002).Controlling for age, sex and body mass index, having a diagnostic
schizophrenia was the most important factor associated with increased IL-6 and hsCRP.
Conclusion: - Higher levels of both hsCRP and IL-6 appear to be associated with
schizophrenia, suggesting a role for the inflammatory process in the pathophysiology of
schizophrenia. Further investigation using larger sample size are warranted. Clinical trials of
interventions to decrease inflammation are worth considering.
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Keywords
schizophrenia, Interleukin-6 (IL-6), high sensitive C - reactive protein (hsCRP) Inflammatory markers, Ethiopia.