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A blood test could soon help determine if a person experiencing early stage symptoms of psychosis could worsen to develop conditions like Schizophrenia.

According to a new study done at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the blood test should determine oxidative stress along with hormonal imbalances which in turn can reveal risk levels to help understand if early-stage psychosis could later turn into conditions like Schizophrenia. The findings of the study were published in the journal Schizophrenia Bulletin.

"The blood test included a selection of 15 measures of immune and hormonal system imbalances as well as evidence of oxidative stress. While further research is required before this blood test could be clinically available, these results provide evidence regarding the fundamental nature of schizophrenia, and point towards novel pathways that could be targets for preventative interventions," said corresponding author of the study Diana O. Perkins, MD, MPH. Perkins is also a professor of psychiatry in the UNC School of Medicine.

Schizophrenia is a psychiatric condition that is said to affect one percent of the population. Nearly 16.5 million people worldwide are said to be disabled in some way due to the disease. While no cure currently exists, treatment largely comprises anti-psychotic medication to address symptoms. Men are 1.5 times more likely to be affected than women.

Recent studies have questioned whether Schizophrenia should be called a single disease. One such study concluded that Schizophrenia could be a combination of eight diseases.

"Complex diseases, such as schizophrenia, may be influenced by hundreds or thousands of genetic variants that interact with one another in complex ways," the study authors wrote, according to CNN.

Management of symptoms during early stages of the condition is associated with better prognosis. Timely adoption of blood tests, along with analysis of other bio-markers can add value in clinical setting, UNC researchers concluded.