APA Looking Beyond: Metabolic Psychiatry: Emerging Science and Equity Implications-View Presentation

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Video Summary

The webinar introduced APA’s “Looking Beyond” series with a focus on emerging topics in psychiatry, especially metabolic psychiatry. Moderated by Dr. Mark Rappaport, the discussion featured Dr. Shabani Sethi and Dr. Mahavir Agarwal, who explored the growing evidence that metabolic health and mental health are closely linked in both directions.<br /><br />Dr. Sethi explained that metabolic psychiatry studies how insulin signaling, inflammation, mitochondrial function, and other metabolic pathways may influence psychiatric illness and treatment response. She described her work with ketogenic metabolic therapy, noting early findings in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder showing improvements in symptoms and metabolic markers, along with ongoing research to identify who benefits most. She emphasized that psychiatrists should think about metabolic health as part of routine care, not just as a side effect of medication.<br /><br />Dr. Agarwal discussed the role of brain insulin resistance in depression and psychosis, and highlighted research showing that treating metabolic dysfunction may improve psychiatric outcomes. He also described a psychiatrist-led metabolic clinic model that uses monitoring and treatments such as metformin, topiramate, and GLP-1 agonists to prevent or reduce antipsychotic-related metabolic problems. Both speakers stressed the importance of early intervention, collaboration, and clinician training.<br /><br />The Q&A covered topics including patient subtypes, GLP-1 effects on motivation, statins, vitamin B12 and metformin, and access to training. The main message: metabolic health should be integrated into psychiatric care to improve outcomes, reduce suffering, and advance the field.

Keywords

metabolic psychiatry

mental health

metabolic health

ketogenic metabolic therapy

schizophrenia

bipolar disorder

brain insulin resistance

antipsychotic metabolic side effects

GLP-1 agonists

psychiatric care