Comparison of frontal QRS-T angle in patients with schizophrenia and healthy volunteers

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are the most prominent cause of death in patients with schizophrenia. Frontal QRS-T (fQRS-T) angle is a novel marker of myocardial depolarization and repolarization heterogeneity. Recent studies have indicated that the fQRS-T angle is associated with some cardiovascular abnormalities. This study aimed to investigate the fQRS-T angle and its relationship with symptoms severity in patients with schizophrenia. One hundred-six patients with schizophrenia and sixty-four healthy controls were included in this study. fQRS-T angle and QT interval measurements were calculated for each participant from the automatic report of the 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) device. The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) and The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) were performed on the patients with schizophrenia. Corrected QT (QTc) interval and fQRS-T angle were significantly higher in the patients with schizophrenia than healthy controls (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). fQRS-T angle was positively correlated with age (r = 0.43), duration of disease (r = 0.37), and negative symptoms scores (r = 0.39). In linear regression analysis, the disease duration and negative symptom severity were the independent predictors of fQRS-T angle in patients with schizophrenia (t = 3.730, p = 0.003 and t = 2.257, p = 0.023, respectively). The fQRS-T angle may be an important ECG parameter to interpret cardiovascular disease risk in patients with schizophrenia.

Keywords: Cardiovascular disease; Electrocardiogram; Frontal QRS-T angle; Schizophrenia.