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Study · Systematic review · n = 203 · 2019

9 results

Adjunctive intranasal oxytocin for schizophrenia: A meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.

Zheng W, Zhu XM, Zhang QE, Yang XH, Cai DB, Li L, Li XB, Ng CH, Ungvari GS, Ning YP, Xiang YT

Schizophrenia research17 Dec 2018Cited by 40 (Europe PMC)

PMID30573406 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1016/j.schres.2018.12.007 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-30573406
Publisher pagePubMedAsk about this study
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Summary

The text of this summary is not shown here, because the article license does not allow reuse. Read it at the source (opens in a new tab)

Text rights: Publisher copyright. Results still quote short attributed sentences.

Results from this study9

9 results from studies that gave the peptide. 9 results from people.

  1. 01HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In adults with schizophrenia, adjunctive intranasal oxytocin did not differ from placebo for total psychopathology.

    In plain wordsIn people with schizophrenia, adding intranasal oxytocin to treatment did not change overall symptoms compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeTotal psychopathology (PANSS or BPRS)
    Study

    n = 203

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Psychiatric symptoms · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    40-80 IU/day · intranasal · 2-16 weeksAs given in this study (human).

    Measurements

    SMD
    −0.08
    total psychopathology

    Source sentences

    Summary
    No significant differences regarding total psychopathology measured with the total Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) or the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) [8 RCTs, n = 203; SMD: -0.08 (95%CI: -0.53, 0.37), P = 0.74, I2 = 59%]
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Ten RCTs (n = 344) with 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive IN-OT [range = 40-80 International Units (IU)/day] and 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive placebo over 2-16 weeks were included.
  2. 02HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In adults with schizophrenia, adjunctive intranasal oxytocin did not differ from placebo for positive symptom scores.

    In plain wordsIn people with schizophrenia, adding intranasal oxytocin did not change positive symptoms compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changePositive symptom score
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Psychiatric symptoms · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    40-80 IU/day · intranasal · 2-16 weeksAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    and the positive, negative and general symptom scores [SMD: -0.20 to -0.04 (95%CI: -0.75, 0.36), P = 0.28 to 0.78; I2 = 0% to 72%] were found between the IN-OT and placebo groups.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Ten RCTs (n = 344) with 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive IN-OT [range = 40-80 International Units (IU)/day] and 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive placebo over 2-16 weeks were included.
  3. 03HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In adults with schizophrenia, adjunctive intranasal oxytocin did not differ from placebo for negative symptom scores.

    In plain wordsIn people with schizophrenia, adding intranasal oxytocin did not change negative symptoms compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeNegative symptom score
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Psychiatric symptoms · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    40-80 IU/day · intranasal · 2-16 weeksAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    and the positive, negative and general symptom scores [SMD: -0.20 to -0.04 (95%CI: -0.75, 0.36), P = 0.28 to 0.78; I2 = 0% to 72%] were found between the IN-OT and placebo groups.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Ten RCTs (n = 344) with 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive IN-OT [range = 40-80 International Units (IU)/day] and 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive placebo over 2-16 weeks were included.
  4. 04HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In adults with schizophrenia, adjunctive intranasal oxytocin did not differ from placebo for general symptom scores.

    In plain wordsIn people with schizophrenia, adding intranasal oxytocin did not change general symptoms compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeGeneral symptom score
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Psychiatric symptoms · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    40-80 IU/day · intranasal · 2-16 weeksAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    and the positive, negative and general symptom scores [SMD: -0.20 to -0.04 (95%CI: -0.75, 0.36), P = 0.28 to 0.78; I2 = 0% to 72%] were found between the IN-OT and placebo groups.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Ten RCTs (n = 344) with 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive IN-OT [range = 40-80 International Units (IU)/day] and 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive placebo over 2-16 weeks were included.
  5. 05HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In adults with schizophrenia, only the 80 IU/day dose of adjunctive intranasal oxytocin was superior to placebo in improving total psychopathology.

    In plain wordsIn people with schizophrenia, only the 80 IU/day dose of intranasal oxytocin improved overall symptoms more than placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreaseTotal psychopathology at 80 IU/day
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Psychiatric symptoms · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    80 IU/day · intranasal · 2-16 weeksAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Dose-response effect analyses showed that only 80 IU/day IN-OT had superiority over placebo in improving total psychopathology (P = 0.02)
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Ten RCTs (n = 344) with 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive IN-OT [range = 40-80 International Units (IU)/day] and 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive placebo over 2-16 weeks were included.
  6. 06HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In adults with schizophrenia, only the 80 IU/day dose of adjunctive intranasal oxytocin was superior to placebo in improving positive symptom score.

    In plain wordsIn people with schizophrenia, only the 80 IU/day dose of intranasal oxytocin improved positive symptoms more than placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    DecreasePositive symptom score at 80 IU/day
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Psychiatric symptoms · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    80 IU/day · intranasal · 2-16 weeksAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Dose-response effect analyses showed that only 80 IU/day IN-OT had superiority over placebo in improving total psychopathology (P = 0.02) and positive symptom score (P = 0.01).
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Ten RCTs (n = 344) with 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive IN-OT [range = 40-80 International Units (IU)/day] and 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive placebo over 2-16 weeks were included.
  7. 07HumanSystematic reviewSafety outcome

    In adults with schizophrenia, discontinuation for any reason did not differ between adjunctive intranasal oxytocin and placebo.

    In plain wordsIn people with schizophrenia, people stopped treatment about as often with intranasal oxytocin as with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeDiscontinuation for any reason
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Adverse events · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    40-80 IU/day · intranasal · 2-16 weeksAs given in this study (human).

    Measurements

    Risk ratio
    1.12
    discontinuation for any reason

    Source sentences

    Summary
    No group differences between adjunctive IN-OT and placebo regarding discontinuation due to any reason [RR: 1.12 (95%CI: 0.67, 1.88), P = 0.67, I2 = 0%]
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Ten RCTs (n = 344) with 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive IN-OT [range = 40-80 International Units (IU)/day] and 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive placebo over 2-16 weeks were included.
  8. 08HumanSystematic reviewSafety outcome

    In adults with schizophrenia, adverse drug reactions did not differ between adjunctive intranasal oxytocin and placebo.

    In plain wordsIn people with schizophrenia, side effects were not different with intranasal oxytocin compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeAdverse drug reactions
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Comparator
    Placebo
    Outcome group
    Adverse events · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    40-80 IU/day · intranasal · 2-16 weeksAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    No group differences between adjunctive IN-OT and placebo regarding discontinuation due to any reason [RR: 1.12 (95%CI: 0.67, 1.88), P = 0.67, I2 = 0%] and adverse drug reactions were found.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Ten RCTs (n = 344) with 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive IN-OT [range = 40-80 International Units (IU)/day] and 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive placebo over 2-16 weeks were included.
  9. 09HumanSystematic reviewEfficacy outcome

    In adults with schizophrenia, subgroup analyses of adjunctive intranasal oxytocin found no group differences for total psychopathology.

    In plain wordsIn people with schizophrenia, subgroup analyses of intranasal oxytocin found no group differences in overall symptoms.

    Peptide
    Oxytocin
    Outcome
    No significant changeTotal psychopathology, subgroup analyses
    Study

    n: not reported in source

    Outcome group
    Psychiatric symptoms · Mental health and mood
    Studied dose
    Dose not stated · intranasalAs given in this study (human).

    Source sentences

    Summary
    Similarly, subgroup analyses for total psychopathology found no group differences.
    1 context sentence
    Summary · context
    Ten RCTs (n = 344) with 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive IN-OT [range = 40-80 International Units (IU)/day] and 172 schizophrenia subjects on adjunctive placebo over 2-16 weeks were included.

AI wrote and checked these results. AI can make mistakes, so check important results against the source.

Version history

PepBank keeps every version of the data on this study. Status changes from Retraction Watch, Europe PMC and Crossref are listed with their source.

  1. Version 2Current

    9 Oct 2026, 18:17 UTC

    Study results updated

  2. Version 1

    9 Oct 2026, 02:49 UTC

    First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

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