Gender differences in cognitive performance among young adults with first-episode schizophrenia in China.

Background: Individuals with schizophrenia exhibit distinctive patterns of cognitive impairments, which pose difficulties in patients' everyday functionality and reduce patients' quality of life. Previous research suggests that many demographic variables, such as gender and age, influence the cognitive performance profiles of schizophrenia patients; however, the gender differences in neurocognitive dysfunction among first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients remain less clear.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we compared the cognitive performance of FES patients to that of healthy controls (HC), with a specific focus on gender differences within the Chinese population aged under 35 years.