A recent study by a team of U.S. researchers showed that treatment with atypical antipsychotics may influence the onset of metabolic syndrome. There is evidence that people with mental disorders are more likely to suffer from metabolic syndrome. This syndrome is a condition that is characterized primarily by:
In the last decades there has been an increased interest in research of metabolic syndrome as well as much evidence about its association with psychiatric patients. The effectiveness of atypical antipsychotics (olanzapine, risperidone, quetiapine, etc.) in the treatment of bipolar disorder is widely known for what they are used in this disease, but research on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in people with bipolar disorder are being really concerned.
A study conducted by Dr. Christoph Correll, Anne M Frederickson of Zucker Hillside Hospital and The Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx NY USA, compared patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia treated with atypical antipsychotics to determine if the presence of metabolic syndrome is influenced by the primary diagnosis or psychiatric treatment.
In general, patients with bipolar disorder had a lower body mass index but the final results concluded that both the group of patients with bipolar disorder and those of the group of schizophrenia who are treated with atypical antipsychotics have similar chance of having metabolic syndrome. These results suggest the existence of metabolic alterations related with antipsychotics but are not particularly related to bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.
Depending on the study, metabolic syndrome is present between 8% and 56% of patients with bipolar disorder that can significantly affect their quality of life. It is necessary to consider this information to make preventive and therapeutic measures adequate enough to treat your symptoms and above all avoid the appearance of what is undoubtedly a need to expand research and studies in order to determine more clearly the association between bipolar disorder and metabolic syndrome.
