The comparison of glucose and lipid metabolism parameters in drug-naïve, antipsychotic-treated, and antipsychotic discontinuation patients with schizophrenia

Abstract

Background

Although many studies have reported that glucose and lipid metabolism disorders are a significant side effect associated with the use of antipsychotic drugs, the characteristics of glucose and lipid metabolism disorders in patients with schizophrenia who are taking antipsychotic drugs remain poorly understood, and the possible effects that antipsychotic discontinuation may have on glucose and lipid metabolism remain unclear.

Methods

The sample consisted of 131 Chinese patients with schizophrenia, including 70 first-episode, drug-naïve patients; 33 patients who had received continuous antipsychotic drug treatment for ≥1 year prior to the beginning of the study; and 28 patients who had discontinued antipsychotic drug treatment for ≥3 months prior to the beginning of study. We compared the glucose and lipid metabolic parameter levels among the three groups of patients with schizophrenia. All assessments were performed upon hospital admission.

Results

The characteristics of glucose and lipid metabolism disorders in Chinese patients with schizophrenia who are taking antipsychotic drugs included significant augmentation of the body mass index and waist circumference, significantly higher levels of fasting plasma insulin and insulin resistance, and significantly lower plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Antipsychotic discontinuation appeared to not significantly improve any plasma glucose and lipid metabolic parameter levels.

Conclusion

The results suggest that antipsychotic drugs aggravate glucose and lipid metabolism disorders and that antipsychotic discontinuation is generally not associated with improvements in the parameters that indicate glucose and lipid metabolism disorders in Chinese patients with schizophrenia.

Keywords:

• antipsychotic-treated
• antipsychotic discontinuation
• drug-naïve
• glucose
• lipid
• schizophrenia

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of all of the doctors, nurses, technicians, and subjects who participated in this study.

Disclosure

This research was funded by the Science and Technology Plan Project (2009B080701080) of Guangdong Province and the National R&D Special Fund for Health Profession (Grant No. 201002003). All of the authors met the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria, and all those who fulfilled those criteria are listed as authors. All authors had access to the study data, made the final decision about where to publish these data, and approved submission to this journal. The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Author contributions

All authors contributed to the conception and design of the study, the data analysis and interpretation, drafting and revising the article for intellectual content, and final approval of the submitted version. No one who fulfilled these criteria has been excluded as an author. Dr Jingping Zhao accepts full responsibility for the final article.