In scientific circles, the idea that mental illness manifests itself quite clearly in brain activity is gaining popularity. However, new research by a team of neuroscientists at the University of Melbourne in Australia suggests that mental illness can manifest much more clearly in the body than in the human brain. The study was presented in an article magazine JAMA Psychiatry.
As part of the study, the scientists analyzed more than 175,000 people, some of whom suffered from serious mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and generalized anxiety disorder). The data included MRI results of the brain and assessment of the state of various body systems, including the immune system, cardiovascular, blood and others.
As expected, all of the “unhealthy” volunteers showed minor changes in brain function. But the authors also noted that they had a significantly worse physical condition in many body systems compared to the control group.
Many studies show that mental illness is associated with poor physical health and chronic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. For example, people with schizophrenia are about three times more likely to develop diabetes than the general population, and are also twice as likely to develop coronary heart disease.
However, the impact of serious psychiatric disorders on other aspects of physical health, such as lung health, liver dysfunction, and bone loss, is less well understood.
“Bodily health indicators related to liver and kidney function, immune system and metabolism were lower in the presence of any mental illness. It turned out that they were better predictors of diagnosis than MRI of the brain,” the authors said.