Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder could be detected years before the conditions appear
According to new research, the risk of developing schizophrenia and bipolar disorder can be detected years before the disorder begins, according to new research.
An international study led by University College Dublin, and funded by the Health Research Council, found that 50% of people who developed mental health disorders attended specialized child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) as children.
Published in the journal World Psychiatry, the findings suggest the potential for early intervention and even prevention, according to Professor Ian Keeler, of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, who led the study, which was conducted in collaboration with the Finnish Institute of Health and Welfare (THL). .
Professor Ian Kelleher said: “Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder typically appear early in adulthood and can have a devastating effect on affected individuals and their families.”
“Our findings show that half of the people who develop these diseases came to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Specialized Mental Health Services) at some point in childhood, typically several years before they developed schizophrenia or bipolar disorder,” the teacher said.
Experts say early intervention is key to improving outcomes for people with serious mental illnesses.
Professor Keeler added: “These findings demonstrate the tremendous opportunities to provide early intervention, even in childhood, through the development of specialized early intervention services within existing CAMHS.”
Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are serious mental illnesses that affect approximately 65 million people worldwide. Both disorders are usually diagnosed in adulthood and are often associated with high levels of disability and financial stress on both the health and personal care systems.
Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder could be detected years before the conditions appear
It is also known that early intervention leads to better outcomes for people affected by these disorders. In the new study, researchers used Finland’s health care registries to follow all people born in 1987 through childhood and adolescence, seeing if they attended CAMHS between birth and age 17.
Using unique patient identifiers, the researchers were able to follow all of these individuals up to age 28 and see who was diagnosed with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
They found that the risk of developing psychosis or bipolar disorder by age 28 was 1.8% for people who did not attend CAMHS. For people who attended CAMHS outpatient clinics in adolescence, the risk was 15%, and for people admitted to CAMHS, the risk was 37%.
“This research demonstrates the power of electronic health records to answer important questions about human health and disease,” said Professor Micah Gesler, THL.
“It shows how healthcare registry data can be used to better understand the pathways of serious mental illness from childhood to adulthood and to identify critical opportunities for early intervention,” he added.
We know that it is critical to intervene as quickly as possible to prevent some of the worst effects of these diseases. “But ideally we would like to be able to intervene even before the disease has occurred, to prevent it completely,” said Professor Ian Kelleher, stressing the importance of early intervention for these disorders.
The professor added that these findings highlight the potential to intervene much earlier than we currently do, even in childhood and adolescence, to prevent the onset of these serious mental illnesses.
