| Background Inflammatory factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, and existing research on inflammatory factors shows significant heterogeneity. Objective To explore the relationship between levels of inflammatory factors and metabolic levels, language fluency, and information processing function in patients with schizophrenia, providing reference for clinical understanding of the neuropathological mechanisms of schizophrenia. Methods 96 patients with schizophrenia who were hospitalized at the Fourth People's Hospital of Hefei from January 2021 to December 2022 and met the diagnostic criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) were included as the study group, while 42 healthy individuals who underwent physical examinations at the examination center of the Fourth People's Hospital of Hefei were included as the control group. Inflammatory factor levels were measured using the Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) electrochemiluminescence assay. Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used to evaluate the clinical symptoms of patients. Verbal Fluency Test (VFT) and Stroop Color Word Test (SCWT) were used to evaluate the language fluency and information processing function of participants. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the factors affecting metabolic level, verbal fluency and information processing function, and ROC curves were plotted to assess the validity of related inflammatory factors in predicting metabolic level, verbal fluency and information processing function. Results The body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, fasting blood glucose, triglycerides, ghrelin, apolipoprotein A and creatinine, interleukin-5 (IL-5), interleukin-13 (IL-13), interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-15 (IL-5), interleukin interleukin-7 (IL-7), and interleukin-10 (IL-10) levels were compared, and the differences were statistically significant (t=3.740, 4.362, 2.407, 2.940, 3.131, -9.814, -2.682, -2.417, 5.942, 9.735, 2.164, -17.876, 2.992, 4.415, p< 0.05). The number of correct VFT-appliances, VFT-animals, VFT-fruits, VFT-vegetable names, VFT-naming starting with "water", and VFT-naming starting with "self" were less in the study group than in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (t=-7.022, -3.760, -5.282, -6.809, -3.790, -2.111, p<0.05). The results of SWCT ratings showed that the study group had longer dot reaction time, word reaction time and word colour reaction time than the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (t=4.682, 4.680, 2.923, all p<0.05). 0.05). Fasting blood glucose levels in schizophrenic patients were negatively correlated with both IL-5 and IL-15 levels, with statistically significant differences (r=-0.231, -0.231, P<0.05), and positively correlated with IL-10 levels, with statistically significant differences (r=0.242, P<0.05). IL-10 and IL-15 were simultaneously the waist circumference (β=0.199, -0.252, t=2.021, -2.568, P<0.05), fasting blood glucose (β=0.226, -0.218, t=2.295, -2.216, P<0.05), and triglycerides (β=0.322, -0.264, t=3.432, -2.817, P<0.01), and IL-13 as a factor of IL-10 for VFT-appliances (β=-0.212, t=-2.100, P<0.05) and VFT-named after the word ‘water’ (β=-0.204, t=-2.019, P<0.019, P<0.01), and VFT-named after the word ‘water’ (β=-0.204, t=-2.817, P<0.01, P<0.01, P<0.01, P<0.01, P<0.01, P<0.01, P<0.01, P<0.01, P<0.01). 2.019, P < 0.05). IL-15 was an influencing factor of VFT-named starting with the word ‘self’ (β = 0.298, t = 3.022, P < 0.01), and IL-4 was an influencing factor of word reaction time (β = 0.257, t = 2.574, P < 0.05). factors.ROC curve analysis showed that IL-13 level could predict abnormal ApoA parameters in schizophrenia patients with a critical value of 1.355 mmol/L, sensitivity of 0.905, and specificity of 0.812;IL-10 levels predicted impaired VFT-appliance language function in patients with schizophrenia, with a critical value of 9.500, sensitivity of 0.857, and specificity of 0.719; IL-10 levels predicted impaired VFT-beginning-with-the-word-water language function in patients with schizophrenia, with a critical value of 5.500, sensitivity 0.619, specificity 0.719; IL-15 levels predicted impaired VFT-beginning-with-self language function in schizophrenic patients, with a critical value of 8.500, a sensitivity of 0.333, and a specificity of 0.844; IL-4 levels predicted impaired word reaction time in schizophrenic patients, with a critical value of 10.205, sensitivity of 0.619, and specificity of 0.760. Conclusions Inflammatory factors in patients with schizophrenia may have an impact on patients' metabolic levels, verbal fluency, and information processing functions. |