Anti-psychotic drugs linked with diabetes

Anti-psychotic drugs linked with diabetes

People with schizophrenia and other conditions need nutrition and physical activity counselling

Newer drugs prescribed for schizophrenia -- and increasingly for other serious forms of mental illness -- are associated with weight gain and diabetes, a trio of Canadian doctors is warning. Dr. Vincent Woo, an endocrinologist at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, and two colleagues wrote a position paper on the subject in a recent issue of the Canadian Journal of Diabetes. "We wanted family physicians and the psychiatric community to be a little more aware of the side-effects of this class of medications," he says.

Many reports have linked the onset or worsening of diabetes to use of atypical or second-generation anti-psychotic drugs. The ones currently available in Canada are: clozapine (brand name Clozaril), olanzapine (Zyprexa), quetiapine (Seroquel) and risperidone (Risperdal). These drugs have been widely used to treat schizophrenia, and are now increasingly prescribed for bipolar disorder, Alzheimer's disease and major depression It is believed the prevalence of diabetes and obesity in people with schizophrenia is as much as two times higher than in the general population.

Woo, along with fellow endocrinologist Dr. Robyn Houlden from Queen's University and family physician Dr. Stewart Harris from the University of Western Ontario, recommend that all people with schizophrenia be screened for diabetes and that those starting antipsychotic medications be provided with education about diabetes and possible weight gain.

The three doctors also suggest that these patients receive nutrition and physical activity counselling. "There is a little bit of motherhood in (the recommendations)," Woo says. "It is healthy to eat well and exercise, but patients who are at risk would benefit the most," he says, adding, "These are not meant to be instituted in all patients, but as a guide."