C-Reactive Protein and Aggression in Patients with Schizophrenia

Recent studies reported firstly an association between aggression and inflammation and secondly an association between inflammation and schizophrenia. In this study, we aim to explore the association between the clinical signs of schizophrenia, aggressive behavior in patients with relapsing schizophrenia and inflammatory marker: CRP (C-reactive protein). Adult schizophrenia inpatients without affective symptoms (n = 154) were prospectively identified and categorized according to their C-reactive protein measurement at admission as either elevated (CRP > 5 mg/L; n = 52) or normal (CRP 5 mg/L. These results confirm the role played by inflammation and immunity in the appearance of aggressive behavior in schizophrenic patients and highlight the interest of the CRP assay at the admission of patients as an indicator of aggression in hospitalized schizophrenic patients.