OBJECTIVE: The presence of obesity and increases in body mass are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. This study examined the effects of olanzapine, risperidone, and haloperidol on weight, body mass index (BMI), and development of obesity in a drug-naive population compared with a matched healthy control group.
METHOD: Consecutive patients during the period from June through October 2006 with DSM-IV schizophrenia at our referral psychiatric hospital were recruited for an extensive prospective study that included anthropometric measures of weight, waist circumference, waist-hip ratio, and BMI. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive haloperidol, olanzapine, or risperidone and compared with a matched healthy control group. The prevalence of obesity, which was the main outcome measure, was assessed on the basis of 2 criteria: revised World Health Organization (WHO) definition for Asians and criteria of the International Diabetes Federation (IDF). Inclusions started in June 2006, and patients were followed for a period of 6 weeks.
RESULTS: The analysis of 66 patients showed a prevalence of overweight (WHO criteria) at 22.7% and obesity at 31.8% (IDF criteria). The prevalence of obesity (IDF criteria) in our patients is over 30 times as high as that of the matched healthy control group (p < .001). Subjects in the olanzapine group had the greatest weight gain at 5.1 kg, followed by risperidone at 4.1 kg and haloperidol at 2.8 kg.
CONCLUSIONS: Obesity is highly prevalent among patients treated with atypical antipsychotics for schizophrenia. Assessment and monitoring of obesity along with preventive and curative measures should be part of the clinical management of patients treated with antipsychotics.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT00534183, www.clinicaltrials.gov.
