Social phobia is visible by biomarkers in the blood, Japanese scientists say.

They found changes in blood counts that are characteristic of hikikomori - people who have abandoned social life and live in isolation for many months or years. The researchers compared the blood tests of 42 hikikomori and 41 regular people. It turned out that sociophobes have a different protein profile. Each of them had increased levels of long-chain acylcarnitine. Hikikomori males also had higher levels of ornithine and arginase, and lower levels of bilirubin and arginine. According to a blood test, scientists were even able to predict the severity of the disease.