Medicinski Glasnik (Aug 2009)
Alterations in body weight and biochemistry in patient treated with different psychotropic drugs in a clinic in Istanbul
Abstract
Aim Was to compare adult female patients receiving psychiatricdrugs with obese adult females who didn’t receive any drug treatmentwith respect to the alterations in body weight and biochemistry,and find out the contrubution of a team approach for the managementof these alterations.Methods A total of 102 female patients aged mean 40.9±12.4years who had been followed up and treated in the Psychiatry OutpatientClinics in Istanbul University for their psychiatric disordersand were complaining about increased body weight in thetreatment period were included. The controls were composed of261 females aged mean 39.8±13.0 years who had been referred byvarious departments to dietitians due to exogenous obesity but hadno endocrine-metabolic or psychiatric disorders or history of druguse. Initially, antropometric measurements and biochemical testswere performed for all patients.Results In the group receiving psychiatric treatment, the meanbody weight, BMI, waist and hip circumferences, body fat percentage(p<0.001); blood insulin, triglyceride, TSH, fibrinogenand homocysteine levels, and HOMA-IR were found to be higherthan those of the controls (p<0.05), whereas the total protein, albumin,zinc and folate levels were significantly lower (p<0.001).Conclusion The results of this study showed that patients whoneed psychopharmacotherapies were also more susceptible to severalmetabolic and cardiovascular disorders. Therefore, it wouldbe useful if psychiatric patients are treated with a multidisciplinaryteam approach consisting of an endocrinologist, psychiatrist and adietitian specialized in this area to prevent or delay the metabolicdisorders caused by psychiatric disorders and treatments.
