Tian Yang, Zhou Huixia, Wang Dongmei, Zhang Xiangyang
CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Psychiatry Investig. 2023 Aug;20(8):689-695. doi: 10.30773/pi.2023.0004. Epub 2023 Jul 7.
A growing body of research suggests the presence of alexithymia (a form of social cognitive impairment) in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ), which may be related to their psychopathological symptoms. Patients with SCZ exhibit high rates of obesity. Interestingly, studies of the general population have found that alexithymia acts a pivotal role in the development and maintenance of obesity. However, little is known regarding the relationship between obesity, alexithymia, and clinical symptoms in SCZ patients. The study was aim to explore the relationship between obesity, alexithymia, and clinical symptoms in SCZ patients.
Demographic and clinical data were collected from 507 patients with chronic SCZ. Their symptoms were assessed with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), and alexithymia was assessed with the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS).
Compare with nonobese SCZ patients, obese SCZ patients scored higher on PANSS positive symptoms, TAS total score, difficulty identifying feelings, and difficulty describing feelings (all p<0.05). Correlation analysis revealed a significant association between difficulty identifying feelings and positive symptoms in SCZ patients. Further correlation analysis showed that this association was only present in obese SCZ patients (p<0.05).
Obesity may moderate the association between alexithymia and positive symptoms in chronic SCZ patients.
越来越多的研究表明，精神分裂症（SCZ）患者存在述情障碍（一种社会认知障碍形式），这可能与其精神病理症状有关。SCZ患者肥胖率较高。有趣的是，对普通人群的研究发现，述情障碍在肥胖的发生和维持中起关键作用。然而，关于SCZ患者肥胖、述情障碍和临床症状之间的关系知之甚少。本研究旨在探讨SCZ患者肥胖、述情障碍和临床症状之间的关系。
收集507例慢性SCZ患者的人口统计学和临床数据。用阳性和阴性症状量表（PANSS）评估其症状，用多伦多述情障碍量表（TAS）评估述情障碍。
与非肥胖SCZ患者相比，肥胖SCZ患者在PANSS阳性症状、TAS总分、识别情感困难和描述情感困难方面得分更高（均p<0.05）。相关分析显示，SCZ患者识别情感困难与阳性症状之间存在显著关联。进一步的相关分析表明，这种关联仅存在于肥胖SCZ患者中（p<0.05）。
肥胖可能会调节慢性SCZ患者述情障碍与阳性症状之间的关联。
