Almost 22% of patients who have suffered a psychotic episode develop fatty liver – ConSalud

In Spain there are 1.4 million people affected by psychotic disorders, 3% of the population, according to data collected in the “White Book of Early Intervention in Psychosis in Spain” of the Spanish Society of Psychiatry (SEP), the Spanish Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AEPNyA) and the Spanish Confederation of Mental Health. Every year, 18,000 first psychotic episodes are detected, of which 6,000 lead to schizophrenia. But in addition to being an important mental health problem, psychosis is related to a higher risk of liver disease and metabolic problems, according to research in which teams from the Mental Health area of ​​the CIBER (CIBERSAM) at the University Hospital have collaborated Virgen del Rocío de Sevilla – Biomedicine Institute of Seville (IBIS), and the CIBER Hepatic and Digestive Diseases area (CIBEREHD) at the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital – Valdecilla Health Research Institute (IDIVAL). People who have suffered a first episode of psychosis have a higher risk of weight gain and metabolic disorders such as diabetes, dyslipidemia or metabolic syndrome. In the general population, it is known that these metabolic alterations are closely associated with the appearance of one of the most common liver diseases, fatty liver (hepatic steatosis), which can evolve into more serious and chronic forms of liver disease. The research, published in the journal Schizophrenia Researchm, focuses on knowing the liver involvement of these patients, as explained by the researcher Javier Vázquez Bourgon, one of the coordinators of the work: “Given that patients with psychosis have a higher risk of present weight gain and metabolic alterations, the objective of this study was to see if they also present this liver involvement more frequently”. “The presence of fatty liver was associated with a worse evolution in metabolic parameters” The results of the study that lasted three years found that “within the first three years from the onset of their first psychotic episode, up to a fifth of the patients (21.9%) developed fatty liver,” explains Javier Crespo, group leader of the CIBEREHD at the Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla –IDIVAL, where this work has been carried out. In comparison, only 3% of the control group with people without psychosis had hepatic steatosis. “Furthermore, the presence of fatty liver was associated with a worse evolution in metabolic parameters, and with the appearance of metabolic syndrome and arterial hypertension in patients with this mental health disorder”, adds the CIBEREHD researcher. “Thanks to this research, we have more evidence of the association between psychosis and liver involvement, which emphasizes the importance of including in routine practice actions aimed at the early detection of metabolic pathology as well as liver pathology (hepatic steatosis) in patients with a first episode of psychosis”, points out Benedicto Crespo Facorro, head of the CIBERSAM group at the Virgen del Rocío Hospital and IBIS. Because we all need health… ConSalud.es