Patients with schizophrenia frequently present hyperprolactinemia as a consequence of antipsychotic treatment. However, an increase in circulating prolactin levels has also been shown in patients without previous treatment. Our objective was to compare prolactin levels between antipsychotic-naive first-episode psychosis (AN-FEP) patients and healthy controls (HC). As part of an FEP program (Programa Asistencial Fases Iniciales de Psicosis [PAFIP]), 270 AN-FEP patients and 153 HC were eligible for this study. Serum prolactin levels were measured by an automated immunochemiluminescent assay. Subjects’ sex and having an AN-FEP diagnosis both had an effect on prolactin levels, with higher levels in women than in men, and in AN-FEP patients than in HC. Moreover, plasma prolactin levels showed a negative correlation with the SAPS scores in AN-FEP female patients. AN-FEP patients have increased levels of prolactin, which might be stress-induced. This, together with the association of higher prolactin with a lower severity of the disease, suggests that prolactin might play a neuroprotective role, especially in women.
CITATION STYLE
Delgado-Alvarado, M., Tordesillas-Gutierrez, D., Ayesa-Arriola, R., Canal, M., de la Foz, V. O. G., Labad, J., & Crespo-Facorro, B. (2019). Plasma prolactin levels are associated with the severity of illness in drug-naive first-episode psychosis female patients. Archives of Women’s Mental Health, 22(3), 367–373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-018-0899-x
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