Anna Zierotin, PhD candidate with UCD School of Medicine, wins poster award at the 15th International Conference on Early Intervention and Prevention in Mental Health (IEPA 2025) in Berlin

Congratulations to Anna Zierotin, a PhD candidate in the UCD School of Medicine, who won the poster competition at the 15th International Conference on Early Intervention and Prevention in Mental Health (IEPA 2025) in Berlin.

The poster, titled ‘The Short, Medium and Long term cardiometabolic outcomes in First Episode Psychosis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis’, reported findings from 82 longitudinal and intervention studies conducted as part of the HRB Psychosis Ireland Structured Training and Research (PSI-STAR) Clinical Doctoral Award.

The study examined physical health outcomes following a first psychosis diagnosis and entry into clinical services, showing accelerated cardiometabolic changes: rapid weight gain of 6–9 kg within the first year, with obesity and hypertriglyceridemia increasing from young adult to midlife population levels within 1–3 years of first-episode psychosis. Diabetes prevalence, initially comparable to peers at baseline, increased to midlife population levels within 5–10 years.

These findings highlight the urgent need for early, integrated prevention strategies and lifestyle interventions in psychosis care. Anna is supervised by Prof Mary Clarke from the DETECT Early Intervention in Psychosis Service and co-supervised by Prof Brian O’Donoghue, Dr Karen O’Connor and Mr. Michael Norton.