Higher Body-Mass Index and Lower Gray Matter Volumes in First Episode of Psychosis

0532601 - ÚI 2021 RIV CH eng J - Journal Article
Kolenič, M. - Španiel, F. - Hlinka, Jaroslav - Matějka, M. - Knytl, P. - Šebela, A. - Renka, J. - Hájek, T.
Higher Body-Mass Index and Lower Gray Matter Volumes in First Episode of Psychosis.
Frontiers in Psychiatry. Roč. 11, 23 September (2020), č. článku 556759. ISSN 1664-0640. E-ISSN 1664-0640
Grant - others:GA MZd(CZ) NV16-32791A
Institutional support: RVO:67985807
Keywords : obesity * schizophrenia * dyslipidemia * first-episode psychosis * low-grade inflammation * voxel-based morphometry
OECD category: Neurosciences (including psychophysiology
Impact factor: 4.157, year: 2020
Method of publishing: Open access

BACKGROUND: Neurostructural alterations are often reported in first episode of psychosis (FEP), but there is heterogeneity in the direction and location of findings between individual studies. The reasons for this heterogeneity remain unknown. Obesity is disproportionately frequent already early in the course of psychosis and is associated with smaller brain volumes. Thus, we hypothesized that obesity may contribute to brain changes in FEP. METHOD: We analyzed MRI scans from 120 participants with FEP and 114 healthy participants. In primary analyses, we performed voxel-based morphometry (VBM) with small volume corrections to regions associated with FEP or obesity in previous meta-analyses. In secondary analyses, we performed whole-brain VBM analyses. RESULTS: In primary analyses, we found that when controlling for BMI, FEP had lower GM volume than healthy participants in a) left fronto-temporal region (pTFCE = 0.008) and b) left postcentral gyrus (pTFCE = 0.043). When controlling for FEP, BMI was associated with lower GM volume in left cerebellum (pTFCE < 0.001). In secondary analyses, we found that when controlling for BMI, FEP had lower GM volume than healthy participants in the a) cerebellum (pTFCE = 0.004), b) left frontal (pTFCE = 0.024), and c) right temporal cortex (pTFCE = 0.031). When controlling for FEP, BMI was associated with lower GM volume in cerebellum (pTFCE = 0.004). Levels of C-reactive protein, HDL and LDL-cholesterol correlated with obesity related neurostructural alterations. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that higher BMI, which is frequent in FEP, may contribute to cerebellar alterations in schizophrenia. As previous studies showed that obesity-related brain alterations may be reversible, our findings raise the possibility that improving the screening for and treatment of obesity and associated metabolic changes could preserve brain structure in FEP.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0311042