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Research suggests an association between metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and schizophrenia. However, the risk of metabolic disorders in the unaffected siblings of patients with schizophrenia remains unclear.
Methods
Using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, 3135 unaffected siblings of schizophrenia probands and 12,540 age-/sex-matched control subjects were included and followed up to the end of 2011. Individuals who developed metabolic disorders during the follow-up period were identified.
Results
The unaffected siblings of schizophrenia probands had a higher prevalence of T2DM (3.4% vs. 2.6%, p = 0.010) than the controls. Logistic regression analyses with the adjustment of demographic data revealed that the unaffected siblings of patients with schizophrenia were more likely to develop T2DM (odds ratio [OR]: 1.39, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.10–1.75) later in life compared with the control group. Moreover, only female siblings of schizophrenia probands had an increased risk of hypertension (OR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.07–2.01) during the follow-up compared with the controls.
Discussion
The unaffected siblings, especially sisters, of schizophrenia probands had a higher prevalence of T2DM and hypertension compared with the controls. Our study revealed a familial link between schizophrenia and T2DM in a large sample. Additional studies are required to investigate the shared pathophysiology of schizophrenia and T2DM.
We live in a chemical soup. On a daily basis, each of us is exposed to hundreds of chemicals, the vast majority of which have been subject to little or no testing to determine whether they are toxic to humans or the environment. Many of these chemicals will turn out to be harmless, but others will have detrimental or even devastating effects that will become apparent only with the passage of time. By introducing thousands of new substances whose health and environmental effects are poorly understood, if at all, nanotechnology will only add to the complexity of this chemical soup.
The problem of toxic ignorance is widely recognized, yet legislatures, regulatory agencies, courts, and the chemical industry have done relatively little to address the problem. Without analyzing the risks posed by chemicals before they become widely distributed, it is difficult to determine the precautions that should be taken or the scope of any health and environmental problems that may result. Experiences in which we have discovered the hazards of chemical substances belatedly – ranging from asbestos to benzene to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) – illustrate the potentially broad and serious consequences of toxic ignorance.