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Doxycycline Use in Adolescent Psychiatric Patients and Risk of Schizophrenia: An Emulated Target Trial
Lång U, Metsälä J, Ramsay H, Boland F, Heikkilä K, Pulakka A, Lawlor A, O’Connor K, Veijola J, Kajantie E, Healy C, Kelleher I. Doxycycline Use in Adolescent Psychiatric Patients and Risk of Schizophrenia: An Emulated Target Trial. Am J Psychiatry. 2025 Nov 5:appiajp20240958. doi: 10.1176/appi.ajp.20240958. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41190738.
  • Study Overview: Large population-based analysis of >56,000 Finnish adolescents in mental health services who received antibiotics.
  • Key Finding: Doxycycline use linked to 30–35% lower risk of developing schizophrenia in adulthood vs. other antibiotics.
  • Mechanism: May reduce brain inflammation and moderate excessive synaptic pruning, a process tied to schizophrenia.
  • Implications: Suggests repurposing doxycycline as potential early preventive intervention for high-risk youth; needs clinical trials to confirm.