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Cited by 69Youth Substance Use and School AttendancePsychosomatic Disorders and Their TreatmentsAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

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Blood biomarkers of Hikikomori, a severe social withdrawal syndrome

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Hayakawa, Kohei, Kato, Takahiro A., Watabe, Motoki, Teo, Alan R., Horikawa, Hideki, Kuwano, Nobuki, Shimokawa, Norihiro, Sato-Kasai, Mina, Kubo, Hiroaki, Ohgidani, Masahiro, Sagata, Noriaki, Toda, Hiroyuki, Tateno, Masaru, Shinfuku, Naotaka, Kishimoto, Junji, Kanba, Shigenobu·2018·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/s41598-018-21260-wPMC PMC5811600
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Abstract

Hikikomori, a severe form of social withdrawal syndrome, is a growing social issue in Japan and internationally. The pathophysiology of hikikomori has not yet been elucidated and an effective treatment remains to be established. Recently, we revealed that avoidant personality disorder is the most common comorbidity of hikikomori. Thus, we have postulated that avoidant personality is the personality underpinning hikikomori. First, we herein show relationships between avoidant personality traits, blood biomarkers, hikikomori-related psychological features, and behavioural characteristics assessed by a trust game in non-hikikomori volunteers. Avoidant personality traits were negatively associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and uric acid (UA) in men, and positively associated with fibrin degeneration products (FDP) and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) in women. Next, we recruited actual individuals with hikikomori, and compared avoidant personality traits, blood biomarkers, and psychological features between individuals with hikikomori and age-matched healthy controls. Individuals with hikikomori had higher avoidant personality scores in both sexes, and showed lower serum UA levels in men and lower HDL-C levels in women compared with healthy controls. This is the first report showing possible blood biomarkers for hikikomori, and opens the door to clarify the underlying biological pathophysiology of hikikomori.

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Metadata

Authors
Hayakawa, K., Kato, T. A., Watabe, M., Teo, A. R., Horikawa, H., Kuwano, N., Shimokawa, N., Sato-Kasai, M., Kubo, H., Ohgidani, M., Sagata, N., Toda, H., Tateno, M., Shinfuku, N., Kishimoto, J., & Kanba, S.
Affiliations
  • Kyushu University (JP)
  • Monash University Malaysia (MY)
  • Oregon Health & Science University (US)
  • National Defense Medical College (JP)
  • Sapporo Medical University (JP)
  • Kobe University (JP)
Corresponding author
Kato, Takahiro A.
ORCID
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2018-02-13
Volume
8
Issue
1
Pages
2884-2884
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41598-018-21260-w
PMC
PMC5811600
OpenAlex
W2799689984
Cited by
69
References
9
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 2
FWCI
22.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Monash University Research Portal (Monash University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  • Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
  • SENSHIN Medical Research Foundation
  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (15K15431, 26713039, 19K20760, 16H06400, JP16H06403, 16H02666)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Youth Substance Use and School Attendance
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Keywords
hikikomori, blood biomarkers, avoidant personality traits, HDL cholesterol, uric acid, fibrin degradation products, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, trust game, sex differences
MeSH terms
Adult, Cooperative Behavior, Female, Humans, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Social Behavior, Social Isolation, Biomarkers, Trust, Young Adult

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