title: Phadiatop Seropositivity in Schizophrenia Patients and Controls: A Preliminary Study.
abstract: There is a dearth of information on the association of atopy with schizophrenia. The few available studies used population-based registers to classify the atopy status of the patients but this strategy is not reliable. This study measured seropositivity with a multiallergen screen of allergen specific IgE antibodies in schizophrenia patients versus healthy controls. A subset of 66 schizophrenia patients and 34 healthy controls were randomly selected from a large comparative study of schizophrenia patients and controls. The Phadiatop multi-allergen screen was performed on sera from all the participants to assess their atopic status. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratio for the association of schizophrenia with Phadiatop seropositivity as a measure of atopy. The prevalence of Phadiatop seropositivity was significantly lower (χ24.59,p= 0.032) and there was a reduced odds ratio for atopy in schizophrenia patients relative to controls (OR 0.40; 95% CI 0.17 to 0.94,p= 0.036). Though limited by a relatively small sample size and potentially confounded by anti-psychotic medications, this study suggests that the prevalence of atopy is lower in patients with schizophrenia. Replicating these results in larger samples could add to our growing understanding of immunological implications in mental illness.
authors.affiliation: Mood and Anxiety Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Olaoluwa
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Okusaga
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins Dermatology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology Reference Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA.
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.affiliation: Mood and Anxiety Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA.
authors.forename: Adem
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Can
authors.affiliation: Mood and Anxiety Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ; St. Elizabeths Hospital, Psychiatry Residency Training Program, Washington, DC, USA.
authors.forename: Ajirioghene
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Igbide
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Giegling
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Annette M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Konte
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Friedl
authors.affiliation: Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA ; University of Maryland Child and Adolescent Mental Health Innovations Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Gloria M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Reeves
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rujescu
authors.affiliation: Mood and Anxiety Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD USA ; University of Maryland Child and Adolescent Mental Health Innovations Center, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Teodor T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Postolache
keywords: IgE; Phadiatop; allergen; allergy; atopy; immunology; schizophrenia