Examining Side Effect Variability of Antipsychotic Treatment in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders: A Meta-analysis of Variance

Estimating multimodal brain variability in schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A worldwide ENIGMA study

Objective

Schizophrenia is a multifaceted disorder associated with structural brain heterogeneity. Despite its relevance for identifying illness subtypes and informative biomarkers, structural brain heterogeneity in schizophrenia remains incompletely understood. Therefore, the objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive insight into the structural brain heterogeneity associated with schizophrenia.

Methods

This meta- and mega-analysis investigated the variability of multimodal structural brain measures of white and gray matter in individuals with schizophrenia versus healthy controls. Using the ENIGMA dataset of MRI-based brain measures from 22 international sites with up to 6139 individuals for a given brain measure, we examined variability in cortical thickness, surface area, folding index, subcortical volume and fractional anisotropy.

Results

We found that individuals with schizophrenia are distinguished by higher heterogeneity in the frontotemporal network with regard to multimodal structural measures. Moreover, individuals with schizophrenia showed higher homogeneity of the folding index, especially in the left parahippocampal region.

Conclusions

Higher multimodal heterogeneity in frontotemporal regions potentially implies different subtypes of schizophrenia that converge on impaired frontotemporal interaction as a core feature of the disorder. Conversely, more homogeneous folding patterns in the left parahippocampal region might signify a consistent characteristic of schizophrenia shared across subtypes. These findings underscore the importance of structural brain variability in advancing our neurobiological understanding of schizophrenia, and aid in identifying illness subtypes as well as informative biomarkers.

QTc prolongation in patients with schizophrenia taking antipsychotics: Prevalence and risk factors

BACKGROUND

QTc prolongation is one of the possible complications in patients with schizophrenia taking antipsychotics, which leads to malignant cardiac arrhythmia. No meta-analysis has been reported assessing the prevalence and correlated risk factors for QTc prolongation.

METHODS

This meta-analysis aimed to assess the evidence for the prevalence of QTc prolongation and correlated risk factors in patients with schizophrenia taking antipsychotics. Web of Science and PubMed were searched according to preset strategy. The quality of research was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS).

RESULTS

In all, 15 studies covering 15,540 patients with schizophrenia taking antipsychotics were included. Meta-analysis showed that the prevalence of QTc prolongation in patients with schizophrenia taking antipsychotics was about 4.0% (95% confidence interval (CI): 3.0%-5.0%, p < 0.001). The prevalence was about 4.0% in Asia (95%CI: 3.0%-6.0%, p < 0.001), about 5.0% in Europe (95%CI: 2.0%-7.0%, p < 0.001), and about 2.0% in America (95%CI: 1.0%-3.0%, p < 0.001). Sensitivity analyses indicated the robustness of the result. Publication bias analysis reported a certain publication bias (t = 3.37, p = 0.012). Meta-regression suggested that female and elderly patients were clinically associated with a higher prevalence of QTc prolongation. According to included studies, smoking, comorbidity of cardiovascular disease, and abnormal levels of high-density lipoprotein/low-density lipoprotein might be related to QTc prolongation in patients with schizophrenia taking antipsychotics.

CONCLUSIONS

The prevalence of QTc prolongation in patients with schizophrenia taking antipsychotics was about 4.0%. Female and elderly patients were more likely to experience QTc prolongation. Close electrocardiogram monitoring was suggested in these at-risk populations.

Associations between antipsychotics and the risk of incident cardiovascular diseases in individuals with schizophrenia: a nested case-control study

BACKGROUND

The association between antipsychotics and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remains significant yet unestablished, especially in Chinese populations.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the risk of CVDs associated with antipsychotics among Chinese individuals with schizophrenia.

METHODS

We conducted a nested case-control study on individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia in Shandong, China. The case group included individuals diagnosed with incident CVDs between 2012 and 2020. Each case was randomly matched with up to three controls. We used weighted logistic regression models to assess the risk of CVDs associated with antipsychotics and restricted cubic spline analysis to explore the dose-response relationship.

FINDINGS

In total, 2493 cases and 7478 matched controls were included in the analysis. Compared with non-users, any antipsychotics use was associated with higher risk of any CVDs (weighted OR=1.54, 95% CI 1.32 to 1.79), with the risk mainly driven by ischaemic heart diseases (weighted OR=2.26, 95% CI 1.71 to 2.99). Treatments with haloperidol, aripiprazole, quetiapine, olanzapine, risperidone, sulpiride and chlorpromazine were associated with increased risk of CVDs. A non-linear dose-response relationship between dosage of antipsychotics and risk of CVDs was observed, with a sharp increase in risk in the beginning and then flattening out with higher doses.

CONCLUSIONS

Use of antipsychotics was associated with increased risk of incident CVDs among individuals with schizophrenia, and the risk varied substantially among different antipsychotics and specific CVDs.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Clinicians should consider the cardiovascular risk of antipsychotics and choose the appropriate type and dose of drugs in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Variability of glucose, insulin, and lipid disturbances in first-episode psychosis: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

First-episode psychosis (FEP) is associated with metabolic alterations. However, it is not known if there is heterogeneity in these alterations beyond what might be expected due to normal individual differences, indicative of subgroups of patients at greater vulnerability to metabolic dysregulation.

METHODS

We employed meta-analysis of variance, indexed using the coefficient of variation ratio (CVR), to compare variability of the following metabolic parameters in antipsychotic naïve FEP and controls: fasting glucose, glucose post-oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), fasting insulin, insulin resistance, haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), total-cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, and triglycerides. Standardised mean difference in metabolic parameters between groups was also calculated; meta-regression analyses examined physiological/demographic/psychopathological moderators of metabolic change.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight studies were analysed (1716 patients, 1893 controls). Variability of fasting glucose [CVR = 1.32; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12-1.55; p = 0.001], glucose post-OGTT (CVR = 1.43; 95% CI 1.10-1.87; p = 0.008), fasting insulin (CVR = 1.31; 95% CI 1.09-1.58; p = 0.01), insulin resistance (CVR = 1.34; 95% CI 1.12-1.60; p = 0.001), HbA1c (CVR = 1.18; 95% CI 1.06-1.27; p < 0.0001), total-cholesterol (CVR = 1.15; 95% CI 1.01-1.31; p = 0.03), LDL-cholesterol (CVR = 1.28; 95% CI 1.09-1.50; p = 0.002), and HDL-cholesterol (CVR = 1.15; 95% CI 1.00-1.31; p < 0.05), but not triglycerides, was greater in patients than controls. Mean glucose, glucose post-OGTT, fasting insulin, insulin resistance, and triglycerides were greater in patients; mean total-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol were reduced in patients. Increased symptom severity and female sex were associated with worse metabolic outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with FEP present with greater variability in metabolic parameters relative to controls, consistent with a subgroup of patients with more severe metabolic changes compared to others. Understanding determinants of metabolic variability could help identify patients at-risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Female sex and severe psychopathology are associated with poorer metabolic outcomes, with implications for metabolic monitoring in clinical practice.

A digital patient-reported outcome (electronic patient-reported outcome) system for patients with severe psychiatric disorders: User-centered development study and study protocol of a multicenter-controlled trial

Background

The effective treatment of patients with severe psychiatric disorders primarily relies on subjective reporting of symptoms and side-effects. This information is crucial for a clinician's decision regarding medication adjustment. Treatment adjustment usually happens at a low frequency (∼4-8 weeks). In between points of care, patients are left alone with their symptoms and side-effects. This leads to uncertainty regarding the treatment, non-adherence, possible relapse, and rehospitalization.

Objectives

We aim to design a flexible electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO) system, which allows patients with severe psychiatric disorders to: (a) record their symptoms using an app; (b) share the data with the clinical team at points of care; and (c) utilize the data to support therapy decisions.

Methods

In this article, we describe the development process which included the following steps: (a) formation of a co-design team; (b) stakeholder interviews with patients, practitioners, and digital health experts to access needs, requirements, and barriers; (c) prototype conceptualization and design; (d) user acceptance testing and refinement; and (e) finalization of the system for testing in a pilottrial.

Results

We included input from patients with lived experience of psychiatric disorders, clinical team members, software engineers, and researchers. A prototype system was refined, and iterative changes were made before finalization during a series of operational meetings. The system allows patients to digitally self-report their symptoms and provides longitudinal ePRO symptom data for export into the electronic health record.

Conclusions

Routine ePRO collection has the potential to improve outcomes and hereby also reduce health service costs. We have successfully developed a trial-ready ePRO system for severe psychiatric disorders. The findings were incorporated in the planning of a feasibility pilot trial. Assuming feasibility will be established, the system might be subjected to a certification process evaluation of safety and efficacy including a randomized controlled trial.

Schizophrenia Increases Variability of the Central Antioxidant System: A Meta-Analysis of Variance From MRS Studies of Glutathione

Patients with schizophrenia diverge in their clinical trajectories. Such diverge outcomes may result from the resilience provided by antioxidant response system centered on glutathione (GSH). Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H-MRS) has enabled the precise in vivo measurement of intracortical GSH; but individual studies report highly variable results even when GSH levels are measured from the same brain region. This inconsistency could be due to the presence of distinct subgroups of schizophrenia with varying GSH-levels. At present, we do not know if schizophrenia increases the interindividual variability of intracortical GSH relative to matched healthy individuals. We reviewed all 1H-MRS GSH studies in schizophrenia focused on the Anterior Cingulate Cortex published until August 2021. We estimated the relative variability of ACC GSH levels in patients compared to control groups using the variability ratio (VR) and coefficient of variation ratio (CVR). The presence of schizophrenia significantly increases the variability of intracortical GSH in the ACC (logVR = 0.12; 95% CI: 0.03-0.21; log CVR = 0.15; 95% CI = 0.06-0.23). Insofar as increased within-group variability (heterogeneity) could result from the existence of subtypes, our results call for a careful examination of intracortical GSH distribution in schizophrenia to seek redox-deficient and redox-sufficient subgroups. An increase in GSH variability among patients also indicate that the within-group predictability of adaptive response to oxidative stress may be lower in schizophrenia. Uncovering the origins of this illness-related reduction in the redox system stability may provide novel treatment targets in schizophrenia.