Telomere length and its association with hippocampal gray matter volume in antipsychotic-naïve/free schizophrenia patients

Abstract Accelerated ageing processes are postulated to underlie schizophrenia pathogenesis. This postulate is supported by observations of reduced telomere length in schizophrenia patients. Hippocampus, one of the most important brain regions implicated in schizophrenia, is shown to atrophy at a faster rate in aging. In this study, telomere length (TL) was measured in 30 antipsychotic-naive/free schizophrenia patients and 60 healthy controls using quantitative PCR assay. Hippocampus volume was measured using voxel-based morphometry. Schizophrenia was associated with differential TL between sexes [Status × Sex; F (1,85) = 5.9, p  = 0.017, η 2  = 0.065]. Male schizophrenia patients had significantly lower relative TL than female patients [ F (1,85) = 7.38, p  = 0.008], while such sex difference was not observed in healthy controls [ F (1,85) = 0.16, p  = 0.69]. Schizophrenia patients showed a significant sex-by-telomere interaction with both right & left hippocampus, with male patients showing positive association of telomere length with volume, while female patients showed negative association. Telomere shortening and the positive association of telomere length with hippocampus volume was observed only in male patients with schizophrenia. Since correlational observations in this cross-sectional study does not necessarily support definitive causal relationship, further longitudinal studies examining hippocampus volume and telomere in schizophrenia patients are needed.