Resveratrol Supplementation in Schizophrenia Patients: A Randomized Clinical Trial Evaluating Serum Glucose and Cardiovascular Risk Factors

BACKGROUND Patients with schizophrenia (SZ) are generally overweight or obese and have several metabolic disorders. Additionally, such patients have a lower life expectancy and the main cause of their increased mortality is cardiovascular disease (CVD). The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of resveratrol supplementation on serum glucose and CVD risk factors in individuals with SZ. METHODS AND RESULTS This is a four-week randomized, double-blind controlled trial (registration No.: NCT 02062190) in which 19 men with a diagnosis of SZ, aged 18 to 65, were assigned to either a resveratrol supplement group (200 mg/day) or a placebo group (200 mg/day). In short, we did not observe significant changes after resveratrol supplementation. In the placebo group, we found a significant increase in total cholesterol levels (p = 0.024) and in LDL-cholesterol (p = 0.002), as well as a decrease in body fat percentage (p = 0.038). The placebo group also showed an increase in triglycerides (9.19%) and a reduction in HDL-cholesterol (4.88%). In the resveratrol group, triglycerides decreased (7.64%). CONCLUSION In summary, oral resveratrol in reasonably low dosages (200 mg daily) brought no differences to body weight, waist circumference, glucose, and total cholesterol. It was possible to note that the lipid profile in the placebo group worsened and, although no significant differences were found, we can assume that resveratrol might prevent lipid profile damage and that the intervention affected the lipoprotein metabolism at various levels.