Table 1.
Baseline characteristics
| Parameter | Placebo group | Alpha lipoic acid group | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number recruited | 10 | 10 | |
| Age (years) | 34.60 ± 7.94 | 37.40 ± 12.81 | 0.564$ |
| Sex (male: female) | 4:6 | 8:2 | 0.170a |
|
Marital status (Never married: married: separated: divorced) |
8:1:0:1 | 8:1:1:0 | 0.428 a |
|
Education (Matric: intermediate: graduate: post-graduate: professional) |
1:1:7: 0:1 | 1:2:5: 2:0 | 0.657 a |
|
Occupation (professional: unemployed: housewife: retired: student: business: not known) |
0:7:1: 0:2:0:0 | 1:5:0: 1:1:1:1 | 0.342 a |
|
Monthly income (in Rupees) (< 5000: 5000–10,000: 10,000–15,000: 15,000–20,000: > 20,000) |
10:0:0:0 | 7:0:0:03 | 0.211 a |
|
Employment (employed: unemployed) |
2:8 | 1:9 | 0.528 a |
| Age of illness onset (years) | 21.50 ± 8.37 | 21.20 ± 3.26 | 0.917$ |
| Total duration of illness (years) | 13.40 ± 6.85 | 15.80 ± 8.11 | 0.484$ |
| SAPS | 60.5 (9 to 79) | 61.50 (37 to 89) | 0.850# |
| SANS | 63.5 (40 to 91) | 60.5 (32 to 67) | 0.405# |
| SCoRS_Patient | 39 (29 to 62) | 41 (30 to 61) | 0.971# |
| SCoRS_Informant | 42 (33 to 64) | 43 (33 to 64) | 0.796# |
| SCoRS_Interviewer | 42 (33 to 64) | 42.5 (29 to 64) | 0.853# |
| SCoRS_Global Assessment | 5.5 (4 to 8) | 6 (4 to 8) | 0.853# |
| Serum BDNF (ng/mL) | 5.06 (2.30 to 7.29) | 5.99 (2.48 to 8.41) | 0.406# |
| Serum MDA (μΜ/L) | 4.45 (2.31 to 7.56) | 5.72 (1.97 to 7.24) | 0.257# |
| Serum GSH (μΜ/L) | 34.76 (31.19 to 47.04) | 32.49 (10.81 to 56.66) | 0.597# |
BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor; MDA, malondialdehyde; GSH, reduced glutathione; SAPS, scale for the assessment of positive symptoms; SANS, scale for the assessment of negative symptoms; SCoRS, schizophrenia cognition rating scale; UKU, Udvalg for Kliniske Undersøgelse
$Independent sample t-test (data in mean ± SD); #Mann–Whitney U test (data in median and range); aFischer exact test