Prevalence, socio-demographic and clinical correlations of underweight in community-dwelling patients with schizophrenia / 中国神经精神疾病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective This study examined the prevalence of underweight and its related risk factors of community-dwelling patients with schizophrenia. Methods Five hundred and three community-dwelling patients with schizophrenia and 323 healthy controls were recruited in a cross-sectional study. Body mass index less than 18.5 was defined as underweight. Their demographic and clinical data including anthropometric data, plasma glucose and lipid parameters were collected. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used to assess patients' psychopathology. Results The prevalence of underweight was 9.9% (50/503) in schizophrenia patients versus 1.5% (5/323) in the control group ( P<0.01). Further logistic regression analysis showed that male ( OR=2.43, 95%CI1.74~3.39), smoking behavior (OR=1.50, 95%CI 1.21~1.86), hospitalization times (OR=1.18, 95% CI 1.06~1.31), PANSS negative score (OR=1.09, 95% CI 1.04~1.14) were significant predictors for underweight (all P<0.05). Conclusion The prevalence of underweight is higher in Chinese patients with schizophrenia than in the general population. Some demographic and clinical variables are risk factors for underweight in schizophrenia.