Hyperlipidaemia following treatment with antipsychotic medications

Abstract

This study estimated the relative risk of developing hyperlipidaemia after treatment with antipsychotics, in comparison with cases and controls not on antipsychotics. Two hundred and twenty (220) subjects were selected for this study, comprising 80 newly diagnosed patients who were not on medical treatment, another 80 patients diagnosed as having psychiatric disorders, based on the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), and were receiving medical treatment. Another 60 non-psychiatrically ill individuals were used as control. Anthropometric indices; body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and blood pressure (BP) were measured. Fasting blood samples were taken and the lipid profile assayed by enzymatic methods. Females represented 57.50% and 63.75% of newly diagnosed and those on treatment respectively. Majority of the patients were single (72.5%) and unemployed (57.5%). Though hypertriglyceridaemia and low high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol are generally risk factors for mental illness among the newly diagnosed as well as those who have been on treatment for at least 3 months, the prevalence of hypertriglyceridaemia was much higher among the latter whereas low HDL cholesterol was more prevalent among the former. These findings suggest that most commonly prescribed antipsychotic medications in this study increase the risk of developing hyperlipidaemia in patients with mental illness. Therefore, routine screening for lipid profile in psychiatric patients is recommended.