Homocysteinemia in psychiatric disorders: association with dementia and depression, but not schizophrenia in female patients.
Homocysteinemia has been reported to be a risk factor for dementia, depression and also schizophrenia, the latter in a gender-specific manner. We have determined homocysteine in female inpatients suffering from various psychiatric diseases to further investigate a possible association between homocysteinemia and psychiatric disorders. Homocysteine was not elevated in schizophrenic females (mean, 11.6+/-5.8 micromol/l); in accordance with previous studies, homocysteinemia could be found frequently in dementia of different aetiology (mean, 17.2+/-6.7 micromol/l), but also to a slighter extent in depressive disorders (mean, 12.9+/-3.8 micromol/l), especially in elderly subjects. We thus suggest that homocysteinemia, at least in females, is an unspecific risk factor for organic brain disorders, but not endogenous psychoses.
Reif
A
A
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg, Germany. a-reif@gmx.net
Schneider
M F
MF
Kamolz
S
S
Pfuhlmann
B
B
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003704:Dementia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D003863:Depression / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006710:Homocysteine / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications*
D006710:Homocysteine