Prevalence of metabolic syndrome among people with psychiatric disorders in Japan: A cross-sectional study using nationwide health insurance claims and health check-up data.
M. Fukasawa, Kentaro Usuda, M. Kataoka, Naoaki Kuroda • Psychiatry Research • 2026
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was consistently higher among those with psychiatric disorders than those without, with rates of 24.81% vs. 20.34% in men and 7.77% vs. 4.60% in women, across a nationwide Japanese sample of working-age adults.
Key Findings
Results
The overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome was higher among individuals with psychiatric disorders compared to those without, in both men and women.
Among men, prevalence was 24.81% in those with psychiatric disorders vs. 20.34% in those without.
Among women, prevalence was 7.77% in those with psychiatric disorders vs. 4.60% in those without.
The prevalence was age-adjusted and sex-stratified.
The study population included 198,692 individuals with psychiatric disorders and 3,629,155 health check-up recipients without psychiatric disorders.
Methods
The study utilized a large nationwide Japanese health insurance claims and health check-up database covering over 4.8 million individuals aged 40–64 years.
The JMDC Claims database was used, accumulating data from multiple health insurance associations in Japan.
Total individuals aged 40–64 years continuously in the database from April 2023 to March 2024 numbered 4,815,834.
Those with any psychiatric disorders totaled 198,692, representing 4.13% of the full sample.
Health check-up participation rates differed: 77.12% among those with psychiatric disorders vs. 83.59% among those without.
Results
Higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome was confirmed among individuals with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depressive disorder.
These three diagnostic groups showed elevated metabolic syndrome prevalence compared to those without psychiatric disorders.
The findings were consistent across both sexes.
Results were based on sex-stratified, age-adjusted prevalence calculations.
Results
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was especially high in men with organic mental disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Organic mental disorders and PTSD were identified as diagnostic categories with particularly elevated metabolic syndrome prevalence in men.
These findings were derived from sex-stratified, age-adjusted analyses.
The pattern distinguished certain diagnostic subgroups as carrying disproportionately higher metabolic risk.
Results
In women, metabolic syndrome prevalence was especially high among those with organic mental disorders, intellectual disabilities, and developmental disorders.
These three diagnostic categories were highlighted as having notably elevated metabolic syndrome prevalence in women.
This pattern was identified through sex-stratified, age-adjusted prevalence analyses.
The finding suggests sex-specific variation in which psychiatric diagnoses confer the greatest metabolic risk.
Results
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome increased with age and was consistently higher among those with psychiatric disorders across all age groups examined.
The age range studied was 40–64 years.
The age-related increase in metabolic syndrome prevalence was observed in both those with and without psychiatric disorders.
The gap in prevalence between psychiatric and non-psychiatric groups was maintained across the age spectrum.
Results
The prevalence of individual metabolic abnormalities was higher among those with psychiatric disorders compared to those without, except for high blood pressure.
Individual components of metabolic syndrome (e.g., abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, elevated blood glucose) were more prevalent in the psychiatric group.
High blood pressure was the single exception, showing no elevated prevalence in those with psychiatric disorders.
This pattern was identified across the full psychiatric disorder group.
Results
People with psychiatric disorders had lower health check-up participation rates than those without psychiatric disorders.
Health check-up receipt was 77.12% among those with psychiatric disorders.
Health check-up receipt was 83.59% among those without psychiatric disorders.
This difference in participation may affect health monitoring and early detection of metabolic conditions in the psychiatric population.
What This Means
This research suggests that people with psychiatric disorders in Japan are significantly more likely to have metabolic syndrome—a cluster of conditions including excess abdominal fat, high blood sugar, abnormal cholesterol levels, and high blood pressure that together raise the risk of heart disease and diabetes—compared to people without psychiatric disorders. Using data from over 4.8 million working-age adults (ages 40–64), the researchers found that about 1 in 4 men and roughly 1 in 13 women with psychiatric disorders had metabolic syndrome, compared to about 1 in 5 men and 1 in 22 women without psychiatric disorders. The elevated risk was seen across many different psychiatric diagnoses, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and others, with particularly high rates in people with organic mental disorders, PTSD (in men), and intellectual or developmental disabilities (in women).
The findings matter because metabolic syndrome is a major driver of preventable physical illness and early death, and people with psychiatric disorders are already known to die younger on average than the general population. This research suggests that the gap in metabolic health between psychiatric and non-psychiatric populations is widespread across diagnostic categories, not limited to just a few conditions. Notably, people with psychiatric disorders were also less likely to participate in routine health check-ups, meaning metabolic problems may go undetected in this group. The authors suggest that integrating monitoring for metabolic syndrome into psychiatric care could help reduce the risk of lifestyle-related diseases and premature mortality in this vulnerable population.
M. Fukasawa, Kentaro Usuda, M. Kataoka, Naoaki Kuroda. (2026). Prevalence of metabolic syndrome among people with psychiatric disorders in Japan: A cross-sectional study using nationwide health insurance claims and health check-up data.. Psychiatry Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2026.117392