title: Antioxidant defense system and family environment in adolescents with family history of psychosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Our objective was to determine antioxidant defence activity in healthy controls (HC) and healthy unaffected second-degree relatives of patients with early onset psychosis (HC-FHP), and to assess its relationship with familiar environment measured using the Family Environment Scale (FES).
  
  
  METHODS
  We included 82 HC and 14 HC-FHP aged between 9 and 17 years. Total antioxidant status, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzyme activities and glutathione levels were determined in blood samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a significant decrease in the total antioxidant level in the HC-FHP group compared with the HC group (OR = 2.94; p = 0.009), but no between-group differences in the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale scores. For the FES, the HC-FHP group had significantly higher scores in the cohesion (p = 0.007) and intellectual-cultural dimensions (p=0.025). After adjusting for these two FES dimensions, total antioxidant status remained significantly different between groups (OR = 10.86, p = 0.009).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although causal relationships cannot be assumed, we can state that family environment is not playing a role in inducing oxidative stress in these healthy subjects. It could be hypothesized that families with affected relatives protect themselves from psychosis with positive environmental factors such as cohesion and intellectual-cultural activities.
authors.affiliation: Stanley Institute International Mood Disorders Research Center, University of the Basque Country, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, 03-RC-003, Hospital Santiago, Vitoria, Spain. monica.martinezcengotitabengoa@osakidetza.net
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gonzalez-Pinto
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinez-Cengotitabengoa
authors.forename: Celso
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arango
authors.forename: Immaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Baeza
authors.forename: Soraya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otero-Cuesta
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Graell-Berna
authors.forename: César
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Soutullo
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Leza
authors.forename: Juan Antonio
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Micó
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D005978:Glutathione / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D054464:Peroxiredoxins / Q000097:blood; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D035781:Siblings / Q000523:psychology*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D054464:Peroxiredoxins; D005978:Glutathione