Relationship Between Exposure to Emotional Neglect and the Inflammatory Biomarkers Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte, Monocyte-to-Lymphocyte, and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratios in Patients With First-Episode Psychosis

Aim: To assess whether exposure to childhood traumatic experiences is linked to the inflammatory markers neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in people with a first-episode psychosis. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 83 patients (21 females and 62 males) with a diagnosis of a first psychotic episode. All participants completed the self-reported Spanish version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). NLR, MLR, and PLR were calculated in each patient. Results: Highest CTQ scores were noted on the emotional neglect and abuse domains (mean +/- SD = 10.92 +/- 4.41; mean +/- SD = 10.93 +/- 4.78, respectively), being lowest for the sexual abuse domain (mean +/- SD = 6.12 +/- 2.41 ). Backward stepwise linear regressions showed that high emotional neglect significantly predicted increased PLR ((3= 0.452, P = .036), older age and high emotional neglect predicted increased NLR ((3= 0.483, P = .036; (3= 0.442, P = .06, respectively), and high emotional neglect, low physical neglect, high total Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) score, and cannabis and alcohol use predicted increased MLR ((3= 0.698, P = .003; respectively). Conclusions: Our results highlight the relationship between the exposure to emotional neglect and the inflammatory biomarkers NLR, MLR, and PLR in patients with a first-episode psychosis. This study has benefitted from controlling for confounders such as body mass index, smoking status, symptom severity, and alcohol and cannabis use.