Key clinical point: Higher levels of homocysteine may be a risk factor for the development of depressive symptoms in patients with schizophrenia.

Major finding: Schizophrenia patients with depression had higher levels of homocysteine compared with those without depression (P = .019). A positive correlation was seen between homocysteine levels and the Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia score (r = 0.22; P = .002).

Study details: The data come from a study of 715 schizophrenia patients with or without depressive symptoms.

Disclosures: This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission Foundation, the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission-Gaofeng Clinical Medicine, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning Foundation, and the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family Planning, Key Developing Disciplines. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.