Objective  To explore the relationship between fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) and cognitive function in patients with schizophrenia and its gender difference.

Methods  A total of 112 chronic schizophrenic patients were recruited as study subjects, among whom 58 females were included in female group and 54 males in male group. Stroop test, range fluency test, connection test and block diagram were used to evaluate the cognitive function of patients. The serum FGF-2 levels of patients were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The difference in correlation between serum FGF-2 level and cognitive function in males and females was analyzed, and the relationships of gender, FGF-2 and cognitive function were discussed through adjustment analysis.

Results  The range fluency test-animal naming score and block diagram test-spatial breadth (backward) score in the male group were lower than those in the female group (t=3.131, 2.215; P=0.002, 0.029); the serum FGF-2 level in the male group was (8.96±1.69) μg/mL, which was lower than (9.97± 2.76) μg/mL of the female group (t=2.308, P=0.023). The correlation analysis showed that the serum FGF-2 level in the female group was positively correlated with the range fluency test-animal naming score (r = 0.264, P=0.045), and negatively correlated with the connection test-B score (r=-0.401, P=0.002); there was no correlation between serum FGF-2 level and cognitive function scores in the male group(P>0.05). Adjustment analysis showed that gender had reciprocal effect on connection test-B score(β=4.373, t=2.425, P=0.017).

Conclusion  Serum FGF-2 level in schizophrenic patients is correlated with cognitive impairment, and there are gender differences. Compared with female patients, male schizophrenic patients have more severe cognitive impairment in attention memory and executive function, and lower level of serum FGF-2. The cognitive impairment of schizophrenic female may be related to the low level of serum FGF-2.