101. SHORTER TELOMERE LENGTH IN SCHIZOPHRENIA PATIENTS COMPARED TO HEALTHY CONTROLS, INDEPENDENT OF TREATMENT, PSYCHOTIC STATUS, AND METABOLIC FACTORS

Abstract Background Schizophrenia is associated with reduced life expectancy and increased mortality, potentially factors such as antipsychotic (APD) treatment, active psychotic symptoms or metabolic diseases have been suspected. Shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a potential marker of accelerated biological aging in schizophrenia, but studies comparing LTL between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls have yielded inconsistent results. Additionally, the impact of individual clinical factors such as age of onset, active psychotic symptoms, relapse frequency, antipsychotic (APD) type, dosage and duration, metabolic status, and smoking on LTL remains understudied. Aims & Objectives This study aimed to examine differences in peripheral blood LTL between patients with schizophrenia and healthy controls, while exploring the potential effects of individual metabolic and clinical factors. Method We recruited 167 patients with schizophrenia and 44 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Among the patients, 44 were not on APDs, while 32 and 91 were treated with aripiprazole and clozapine, respectively, in the past 24 weeks. Psychotic symptom severity was assessed using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Metabolic factors, including body mass index (BMI), fasting glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), and high-density lipoprotein-C (HDL-C), were measured. LTL was quantified using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Linear regression models were employed to assess the effect of schizophrenia on LTL, adjusting for potential confounders. Results Patients with schizophrenia exhibited shorter LTL compared to healthy controls (β = –0.184, p < 0.01), both in psychotic remission (p < 0.001) and non-remission groups (p < 0.001). In regression models comparing LTL between patients and controls, higher BMI was independently associated with longer LTL (β = 0.006, p = 0.03), while other metabolic factors (fasting glucose, total cholesterol, TG, and HDL-C) showed no significant association with LTL. Within the patient group, none of the examined factors, including age of onset, active psychotic symptoms, hospitalization frequency, APD type, dosage and treatment duration, metabolic status, or smoking, significantly affected LTL. Discussion & Conclusions Schizophrenia is associated with telomere shortening, consistent with previous studies. Higher BMI appeared to have a potential protective effect on LTL, but this effect was not significant after controlling for confounders. Neither APD treatment, active psychotic status, smoking, nor other metabolic factors significantly influenced LTL in this study. Larger studies with more comprehensive metabolic assessments are warranted to confirm these findings.