The following is a summary of “Decrease in cognitive performance and increase of the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios with higher doses of antipsychotics in women with schizophrenia: a cross-sectional study,” published in the August 2023 issue of Psychiatry by Frota et al.

Researchers performed a retrospective study to explore the relationship between symptoms, cognitive performance, 3 inflammation markers (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), & platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR)), and antipsychotic dose (in chlorpromazine units) relate in male and female schizophrenia patients.

They analyzed the complete blood count and neuropsychological test results in schizophrenia patients using the Welch t-test for group comparisons and the Pearson correlation test.

The results showed higher NLR and PLR in women with schizophrenia than in men. NLR and PLR correlated positively with antipsychotic dose and inversely with Direct Digit Span in women. Female samples showed higher antipsychotic doses associated with poorer working and semantic memory and reduced mental flexibility.

They concluded that higher antipsychotic doses worsened cognitive function in women with schizophrenia but not men. Increased cognitive decline in females may be linked to inflammation biomarkers NLR and PLR.

Source: bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-023-05050-x