Metabolic syndrome is common among patients with schizophrenia, and those with metabolic syndrome are at significantly higher risk for cardiovascular disease, according to Shadi Naderyan Fe’li of the department of biostatistics and epidemiology at Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd, Iran, and associates.
The cross-sectional study, performed on 100 patients with schizophrenia (83 men, 17 women), was published in the Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran. (men, 21.7%; women, 52.9%); the most common component of metabolic disorder was low HDL cholesterol in males and abdominal adiposity in females.
Based on Framingham Risk Scores, 76% of study participants had a low risk of cardiovascular disease, 16% had intermediate risk, and 8% had high risk. However, patients were almost twice as likely to have intermediate or high risk of cardiovascular disease if they also had metabolic syndrome (P = .042).
“Considering the findings of this study as well as other recent reports, psychiatrists and health care staff should be informed about the potential metabolic side effects of antipsychotics and unhealthy lifestyles among these patients. Furthermore, regular monitoring of metabolic risk factors is suggested. In addition, medical and behavioral interventions should be conducted for patients with [metabolic syndrome],” the investigators concluded.
The investigators reported that they had no conflicts of interest.
lfranki@mdedge.com
SOURCE: Fe’li SN et al. Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2019 Sep 16. doi: 10.34171/mjiri.33.97.