Table 1.
Research methods used in the study.
| Method | Reference | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical data | ||
| Clinical history | n/a | Duration of untreated psychosis (DUP), number of episodes (QE), age of onset (AE), course of the first episode (AF), number of hospitalizations (QH), hospitalization length (HL). |
| PANSS (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) | [35] | A tool for assessing the severity of schizophrenia symptoms. Thirty items rated on a scale from 1 (asymptomatic) to 7 (extremely symptomatic) considering five factors: positive symptoms (PANSS pos), negative symptoms (PANSS neg), disorganized thoughts (PANSS dis), uncontrolled hostility/excitement (PANSS exc), anxiety/depression (PANSS emo). |
| BDI-II (Beck Depression Inventory, second ed.) | [36] | The scale of severity of depressive symptoms used in psychiatrically diagnosed patients. Includes 21 factors scored from 0 to 63. Cut-off points: minimal depression (0–13), mild depression (14–19), moderate depression (20–28), severe depression (29–63). |
| CDSS (Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia) | [37,38] | Tool for assessing depressive symptoms in people with schizophrenia, including 9 issues assessed from 0 to 3 (total: 0–27). An increase in the score means an increase in the severity of depressive symptoms. A score above 6 has an 82% specificity and 85% sensitivity for predicting the presence of a major depressive episode. |
| CTQ (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire) | [39,40] | Specifies information about the experience of trauma in childhood and adolescence. Five trauma types subscales: emotional abuse (CTQ-EA), physical abuse (CTQ-PA), sexual abuse (CTQ-SA), emotional neglect (CTQ-EN), physical neglect (CTQ-PN), and the total trauma (CTQ-Total) scale, which is the sum of the individual subscales. An increase in the score indicates an increased risk and severity of the experience of trauma. |
| Routine laboratory tests including markers of HPT axis function | ||
| Routine laboratory tests | n/a | Thyroid and HPT markers (TSH, FT3, FT4), inflammation markers (CRP, ESR), ionogram (K+, Na+, Mg2+), full blood count, metabolic parameters (glucose and lipid profile: TC, HDL, LDL, TG), renal function markers (creatinine, urea, eGFR), liver function markers (AST, ALT, GGTP). |
| Specialized tests (performed outside the standard test protocol) | ||
| Specialized laboratory tests | [41,42,43,44] | The total antioxidant potential expressed as FRAP in saliva and blood serum, serum malondialdehyde (MDA), serum paraoxonase 1 (PON-1). |
| Specialized neuroimaging studies | n/a | MRI of the brain (T1W, T2W, FLAIR, DWI, SWI sequences), 1H-MRS for the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the spectrum of neurometabolites (i.e., myoinositol). |
| Pharmacotherapy | n/a | Drugs used converted into a chlorpromazine equivalent |
AST: aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: alanine aminotransferase; CRP: C-reactive protein; eGFR: estimated glomerular filtration rate; ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate; FT3: free triiodothyronine; FT4: free thyroxine; HDL: high-density lipoprotein; GGTP: γ-glutamyltranspeptidase; LDL: low-density lipoprotein; TC: total cholesterol, TG: triglycerides; TSH: thyrotropin.