Table 1.
Socio-demographic characteristics, stress variables, IL-6, TNF-alpha and BDNF gene expression of first-episode psychosis patients and healthy controls.
| Patients n=49 | Controls n=30 | Test and significance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 28.2±0.9 | 27.0±0.8 | t=−1.0, df=1, 77, p=0.3 |
| Gender (M/F) | (33/16) | (19/11) | χ2=0.1, p=0.8 |
| % of males | 67.3% | 63.3% | |
| Body Mass Index (kg/m2) | 24.8±0.8 | 23.5±0.8 | t=−1.2, df=1, 60, p=0.3 |
| Ethnicity (White/Others) | (11/38) | (9/21) | χ2=0.6, p=0.6 |
| % of white British | 22.4% | 30% | |
| N. of recent stressors | 2.3±0.2 | 1.3±0.2 | t=−3.0, df=1, 71, p=0.004 |
| Perceived Stress Scale | 21.4±1.1 | 12.0±1.2 | t=−5.6, df=1, 71, p<0.001 |
| Childhood trauma (no/yes) | (9/32) | (17/11) | χ2=10.7, p=0.002 |
| % with at least 1 trauma | 78% | 39.3% | |
| Day cortisol (nmol hour/l) | 79.2±4.6 | 77.6±7.7 | t=−0.2, df=1, 43, p=0.9 |
| IL-6 expression | 1.67±0.10 | 1.04±0.09 | t=−4.6, df=1, 73, p<0.001 |
| TNF-alpha expression | 1.66±0.06 | 1.04±0.05 | t=−7.7, df=1, 75, p<0.001 |
| BDNF expression | 0.54±0.05 | 1.17±0.10 | t=5.5, df=1, 77, p<0.001 |