Lili WU, Xing WEI, Mengyun ZHANG, Chengbing HUANG, Wenjie SHI
Alpha Psychiatry - 2026;27(5):52507-0
Background: This study investigated the association between obesity and peripheral blood inflammatory cell markers, namely the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), in patients with chronic schizophrenia. Methods: A total of 220 hospitalized patients with schizophrenia were enrolled. Obesity was assessed using body mass index (BMI), calculated according to standardized procedures. Participants were categorized into an obesity group (n=86; BMI>=28.0kg/m2) and a non-obesity group (n=134; BMI18.5-24.0kg/m2). Levels of SII, NLR, PLR, neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, and platelet count were measured and compared between the two groups. Correlations between SII, NLR, PLR, and obesity were subsequently analyzed. Results: Compared with the non-obesity group, the obesity group exhibited significantly higher SII values, lymphocyte counts, platelet counts, and suicide risk scores. BMI was positively correlated with SII. In addition, NLR was positively correlated with suicide risk scores. Conclusions: Patients with chronic schizophrenia and obesity exhibit elevated SII, lymphocyte counts, platelet counts, and suicide risk. SII may serve as a novel peripheral inflammatory marker for predicting obesity in this patient population.
