Telomere Length as a Marker of Suicidal Risk in Schizophrenia

Abstract

Schizophrenia and suicidal behavior are associated with shortening of telomere length. The aim of the study was to compare the content (pg/g) of the telomeric repeat in DNA isolated from peripheral blood cells in three groups of subjects: patients with schizophrenia and a history of suicide, patients with schizophrenia without suicide, and healthy control volunteers.
 Material and methods
 47 patients with schizophrenia with suicidal behavior, 47 patients without self-destructive tendencies and 47 healthy control volunteers were examined clinically and for the content of telomere repeat in the DNA of blood leukocytes matched by sex and age.
 Results
 Analysis of the determination of the telomere repeat (TR) content in DNA indicates a statistically significant increase in telomere length in the series: patients with schizophrenia and suicides - patients with schizophrenia without suicides - healthy controls (225 vs 224 vs 255; p = 0.024). The same trend is observed for the concentration of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) (257 vs 262 vs 272; p = 0.012).
 Conclusions: first established the phenomenon of telomere shortening in schizophrenia associated with suicidal risk. Telomere length corresponds to the parameters of a biological marker - an objectively measured indicator of normal or pathological processes, but its validity still needs to be verified with an assessment of its sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value. It is premature to consider telomere length as a predictive indicator of suicidal risk.