Prevalence of the Metabolic Syndrome in Schizophrenic Patients Receiving Second Generation Antipsychotic Agents – A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Objective: The present study was taken up to assess the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in schizophrenic patients receiving second generation antipsychotic agents and also to determine the most sensitive and specific screening methods for detecting metabolic syndrome in these patients. Materials and Methods: The present study was undertaken at the Department of Psychiatry, KLES Dr. Prabhakar Kore Hospital and MRC, Belgaum. 80 patients diagnosed to be suffering from schizophrenia and receiving a single second generation antipsychotic ( olanzapine, risperidone or quetiapine ) for 3 months or more were enrolled in the study after obtaining written informed consent. Patients were requested to come the next day in the fasting state for the purpose of physical examination and blood collection. Patients were screened for metabolic syndrome using AHA/ NHLBI modified NCEP ATP III criteria. Results: Prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was found to be 35%. The prevalence in female patients was found to be higher ( 37.2% ) than in males ( 32.43% ) . Prevalence was found to be higher ( 62.5% ) in older patients aged 45 years and above. Prevalence of insulin resistance was found to be 55%. The method with highest sensitivity for screening of the metabolic syndrome was serum HDL cholesterol with a sensitivity of 89.28%. Fasting blood glucose estimation and measurement of waist circumference were found to have highest and equal specificity of 90.38% for screening of metabolic syndrome. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in schizophrenic patients treated with second generation antipsychotic agents. Increasing awareness of this association among clinicians will help to prevent, detect and treat this condition which is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality.