For many young people with psychosis, conversations about physical health risks often happen too late. One month after launch, PsyMetRiC is already helping clinicians bring these discussions forward, supporting earlier and more informed decision-making in routine clincal care.

Built using longitudinal data from over 25,000 patients followed for two decades, PsyMetRiC is the first validated cardiometabolic risk prediction tool tailored for young people with psychosis. It generates individualised risk estimates for outcomes such as weight gain, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes, across 1-, 6-, and 10-year time horizons.

Unlike some existing tools developed in older adult populations, it reflects the realities of early psychosis care. It uses routinely collected clinical data, making it applicable to use within everyday consultations. It is designed to support conversations about future cardiometabolic risk when starting treatment, rather than waiting until problems emerge.

The underlying methods are described in the recent Lancet Psychiatry PsyMetRiC paper. PsyMetRiC was led by Dr Benjamin Perry, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Birmingham with contributions from our own Dr Emanuele F Osimo. This work reflects a broader shift toward clinically embedded data science in psychiatry, where models are designed not only for statistical performance, but for use in real clinical decisions.

Co-production has been core priniple through out development. Young people with lived experience of psychosis were involved throughout development. Their input fundementaly shaped how risk is presented, helping ensure the tool is clear, acceptable, and supports shared decision-making in practice.

Early feedback suggests PsyMetRiC is valuable not just as a prediction model, but as a visual aid that supports discussion and planning. More broadly, this work points to a direction of travel for the field. Toward tools that support prevention, fit into clinical workflows, and are developed with the people they are intended to help.

You can explore PsyMetRiC at psymetric.app and see how it could support conversations in your own clinic or research.