Objective: The aim of this study was to assess bone mineral density levels of patients with schizophrenia and to compare the results with healthy controls. Methods: Fourteen patients with schizophrenia and 31 healthy controls, between 22 and 44 years of age, were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. Bone mineral density (BMD) levels of each group were measured by Dual Energy X-ray Absorbiometry (DEXA). The patients were assessed using the Positive and Negative Symptom Scale (PANSS). All patients had been receiving antipsychotic treatment for at least 2 years. Patients' sociodemographic caharacteristics and risk factors for osteoporosis (antipsychotic use, sunlight exposure, physical activity, etc.) were documented. Results: As compared with the healthy controls, the patients with schizophrenia had significantly lower BMD at the lumbar spine and at all sites of the proximal femur. Correlation analysis showed that the only factor related with the femoral BMD only in patients with schizophrenia was the age. No association between BMD and gender, PANSS score, type of antipsychotic medications, and other risk factors for osteoporosis were observed. Conclusions: In this study, we found that BMD in schizophrenia patients was lower than that of healthy controls and this finding suggest that osteoporotic changes may be seen in younger ages. Further prospective studies are needed to better clarify the relationship between osteoporosis and schizophrenia.

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