Key clinical point: Patients with schizophrenia may have elevated levels of interleukin 18 (IL-18), but there is no evidence of a causal relationship.

Major finding: Patients with schizophrenia had significantly elevated levels of IL-18 vs healthy controls (Z = 3.50; P = .0005). The association remained significant in subgroups of patients with chronic schizophrenia (Z = 3.15; P = .02) and first episode psychosis (Z = 1.93; P = .05) vs healthy controls. Mendelian randomization analysis did not find any causal relationship between IL-18 levels and schizophrenia.

Study details: The data come from a systematic review and meta-analysis of 8 studies.

Disclosures: No data on funding and conflicts of interest were provided.