Increased Silent Brain Infarction Accompanied With High Prevalence of Diabetes and Dyslipidemia in Psychiatric

Tetsuto Kanzaki1, Yoriyasu Uju1, Keisuke Sekine1

  • 1Department of Clinical Medicine (Drs Kanzaki and Mimori) and Department of Biostatistics (Dr Takizawa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Chiba Institute of Science, Choshi City; Department of Psychiatry (Drs Uju, Sekine, Ishii, Yoshimi, Yasui, Yasukawa, Sato, Okamoto, Hisaoka, Miura, Kusanishi, Murakami, Nakano, Mizuta, Hayakawa, and Tsukada) and Department of Internal Medicine (Dr Mishima), Kohnodai Hospital, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Ichikawa City; and Amine Pharma Research Institute, Innovation Plaza at Chiba University, Chiba City (Dr Igarashi), Japan.

Insights

Psychiatric patients in Japan show a higher prevalence of silent brain infarction, linked to diabetes and low HDL cholesterol. This highlights the increased risk of cerebrovascular disease in this population.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Psychiatry

Background:

  • Patients with schizophrenia face elevated risks of atherosclerotic diseases, influenced by lifestyle factors and antipsychotic medications.
  • Cerebrovascular diseases like stroke and coronary heart disease are significant causes of mortality in Japan.
  • Understanding the prevalence of cerebrovascular disease in psychiatric inpatients is crucial for targeted interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence of cerebrovascular disease in Japanese psychiatric inpatients using brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
  • To assess the association between metabolic and physical health status and cerebrovascular disease in this population.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional study involving 152 hospitalized psychiatric patients (mean age 50-57 years) at Kohnodai Hospital, Japan.
  • Patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (69.1%), mood disorders (18.4%), or other mental disorders (12.5%) underwent physical and metabolic assessments, including glucose and lipid levels, and brain MRI within one week of admission.
  • Data collected included physical status, serum fasting plasma glucose, hemoglobin A1c, HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.

Main Results:

  • The study group exhibited a significantly high prevalence of diabetes and low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterolemia in both sexes.
  • Elevated serum fasting plasma glucose and hemoglobin A1c levels were observed, alongside significantly low serum HDL cholesterol and total cholesterol.
  • Silent brain infarction was detected at a higher rate in psychiatric inpatients compared to healthy controls.

Conclusions:

  • Psychiatric inpatients in Japan demonstrate an increased prevalence of silent brain infarction.
  • This finding is associated with higher rates of diabetes and low HDL cholesterol among the study participants.
  • These results underscore the heightened risk of cerebrovascular complications in individuals with mental disorders.
Abstract

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