The Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Patients Treated with Atypical Antipsychotics in an Outpatient Health Clinic

Abstract

Specific Aims: To determine the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in patients treated in an outpatient clinic that were taking atypical antipsychotics. Methods: This retrospective chart review included 822 adults diagnosed with various personality/mood disorders. Age, gender, ethnicity, blood pressure, height, weight, lipid panels, fasting blood glucose, and second-generation antipsychotic (SGA) used and treatment length were obtained. Patients were separated into two groups: those who were not taking an SGA in/for the past three months (group 1), and those taking at least one SGA for a minimum of three months (group 2). MetS was determined using NCEP ATP III guidelines. The primary outcome measured was the difference in the prevalence of MetS between each group. Main Results: At baseline, 753 patients were in group 1 and 69 patients were in group 2, there was a higher percentage of females in group 1 (p<0.0001), and a higher percentage of males in group 2 (p<0.0001). No difference was seen with age, and weight, (p=0.294, p=0.625, respectively). There were more patients reported as Caucasian in group 2 (p=0.0001) and more reported as Caucasian/Hispanic in group 1 (p=0.0001). The rate of MetS between group 1 (54.45%) and group 2 (59.42%) was not statistically different (p = 0.427). Conclusion: No statistical difference was found in the rate of MetS between the two groups. Removing confounding drugs known to cause weight gain did not change these results.