TY - JOUR
T1 - Cytomegalovirus infection associated with lower IQ in adolescent patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders
T2 - A preliminary report
AU - Calkova, Tereza
AU - Cervenka, Simon
AU - Yolken, Robert H.
AU - Andreassen, Ole A.
AU - Andreou, Dimitrios
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority (2019–108) and the Research Council of Norway ( 223273 , 213700 ).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors
PY - 2022/7
Y1 - 2022/7
N2 - Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection of immunocompetent hosts is usually inapparent, but typically results in a non-silent chronic latency which is considerably more active than previously considered. In adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, CMV latent infection has been associated with cognitive disturbance including lower intelligent quotient (IQ). We hypothesized that the same pattern will be present in adolescent patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (early-onset non-affective psychosis). We included 17 adolescents with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (10 patients with schizophrenia, one patient with schizoaffective disorder and six patients with psychosis not otherwise specified), mean age 16.7 years, females 71% and CMV seropositivity 35%. Current IQ was estimated with the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. CMV immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations were measured by solid-phase immunoassays and expressed as dichotomous measures (seropositive/CMV + vs. seronegative/CMV-). CMV + patients (mean IQ 91) had significantly lower full-scale IQ than CMV- patients (mean IQ 110) (20 units difference; p < 0.001). Post-hoc analyses showed that CMV + patients had both lower performance and lower verbal IQ relative to CMV- patients (p = 0.001 and 0.049, respectively). In this preliminary report, we found that CMV IgG seropositivity, reflecting previous CMV infection and current latency, was associated with lower IQ. This may be indicative of an unfavorable impact of CMV infection on general intelligence in early-onset non-affective psychosis.
AB - Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection of immunocompetent hosts is usually inapparent, but typically results in a non-silent chronic latency which is considerably more active than previously considered. In adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, CMV latent infection has been associated with cognitive disturbance including lower intelligent quotient (IQ). We hypothesized that the same pattern will be present in adolescent patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (early-onset non-affective psychosis). We included 17 adolescents with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (10 patients with schizophrenia, one patient with schizoaffective disorder and six patients with psychosis not otherwise specified), mean age 16.7 years, females 71% and CMV seropositivity 35%. Current IQ was estimated with the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. CMV immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations were measured by solid-phase immunoassays and expressed as dichotomous measures (seropositive/CMV + vs. seronegative/CMV-). CMV + patients (mean IQ 91) had significantly lower full-scale IQ than CMV- patients (mean IQ 110) (20 units difference; p < 0.001). Post-hoc analyses showed that CMV + patients had both lower performance and lower verbal IQ relative to CMV- patients (p = 0.001 and 0.049, respectively). In this preliminary report, we found that CMV IgG seropositivity, reflecting previous CMV infection and current latency, was associated with lower IQ. This may be indicative of an unfavorable impact of CMV infection on general intelligence in early-onset non-affective psychosis.
KW - CMV
KW - Early-onset psychosis
KW - IQ
KW - Schizophrenia spectrum disorders
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.05.036
DO - 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.05.036
M3 - Article
C2 - 35636034
AN - SCOPUS:85130814175
SN - 0022-3956
VL - 151
SP - 571
EP - 574
JO - Journal of Psychiatric Research
JF - Journal of Psychiatric Research
ER -