The Link Between Diabetes and Schizophrenia Found

Researchers from the Medical College of Georgia have just recently made a very disturbing find, when they have established that people suffering from schizophrenia are at a higher risk of developing type II diabetes and subsequent complications than others. The conclusion of their new study is based on a research conducted on 50 individuals who have been recently diagnosed with schizophrenia or another similar condition, and who did not have any other pre-existing medical conditions.

Of the participants, 15 percent exhibited either signs of developing type II diabetes, or abnormal rates in their glucose metabolism, which is also a clear indicator of the disease.

Dr. Brian Kirkpatrick, who is the vice chair of the MCG Department of Psychiatry and Health Behavior, says that in a control group, also some 50-individual large, no one has developed diabetes or exhibited any signs of out-of-the-ordinary metabolic rates. To the research team, the results of its investigation are beyond any doubt.

Diabetes is a disease whose main trait is the fact that it renders the human body incapable of producing or using insulin properly, which has a negative effect on the way the digestive system can derive energy from substances such as glucose, starches and other foods. The condition affects millions of people around the world, and leads to some very nasty complications, including ulcerations and diabetic retinopathy.

“These findings point toward there being some shared environmental factors or genetic factors between the development of schizophrenia and diabetes,” Kirkpatrick shares. The finds will be presented between March 28th and April 1st at the International Congress on Schizophrenia Research, held in San Diego. Together with colleagues from the University of Barcelona in Spain and the University of Maryland, Kirkpatrick's team administered two-and-a-half-hour-long glucose tests to schizophrenia patients just before the individuals began their medication.

It is known that psychotic drugs cause gain weight, a main factor for diabetes, so it was paramount for the researchers to “catch” their test subjects before they started their treatments. “We know the medicine causes problems, but we wanted to know whether the disease also causes them,” the expert explains.

“Many people focus on the brain function part of the disease, but patients also have other medical problems that can't be attributed to other factors. Bad things that happen in utero and at birth, such as prenatal famine and low birth weight, have both been shown to increase the risk of diabetes and schizophrenia. Problems in early development can leave a lasting impact. And that may eventually enable some sort of intervention strategy,” he concludes.