Predictive value of serum prealbumin and ferritin combined with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale on nutritional risk in hospitalized patients with schizophrenia: A cross-sectional study

Objective To investigate the predictive value of serum prealbumin and ferritin combined with the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale score for concurrent nutritional risk in hospitalized patients with schizophrenia. Methods This retrospective study enrolled 90 hospitalized patients with schizophrenia from the Department of Psychiatry in a psychiatric hospital between May 2023 and March 2024. Nutritional risk was screened and categorized using the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool. Psychiatric symptoms were assessed using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale. General demographic data and serum biochemical indicators were collected. Univariate analysis and binary logistic regression analysis were used to identify independent associated factors for nutritional risk. The predictive efficacy of the combination of prealbumin, ferritin, and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total score for nutritional risk was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Results Among the 90 patients, 66 (73.3%) had no nutritional risk (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool = 0), and 24 (26.7%) had nutritional risk (Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool ≥ 1). Binary logistic regression analysis identified the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total score (odds ratio = 1.156, 95% confidence interval: 1.046–1.278), prealbumin (odds ratio = 0.902, 95% confidence interval: 0.866–0.958), and ferritin (odds ratio = 0.890, 95% confidence interval: 0.802–0.981) as independent associated factors for nutritional risk in patients with schizophrenia (p < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the combined model of prealbumin, ferritin, and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total score had an area under the curve of 0.831 (95% confidence interval: 0.730–0.931) for predicting nutritional risk. At the optimal cutoff value of ≥0.311, the sensitivity was 0.750 and the specificity was 0.803. Conclusion Hospitalized patients with schizophrenia have a high prevalence of nutritional risk. The combination of serum prealbumin, ferritin, and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total score demonstrates good predictive value for concurrent nutritional risk and shows promise as an effective indicator for the early identification of nutritional risk in this patient population in clinical settings.