Abstract:

Introduction: Olanzapine is one of the most commonly used atypical antipsychotic and is associated with significant deterioration of the metabolic profile among the patients taking it. Aim: To assess the emergence of drug induced metabolic syndrome among patients taking olanzapine. Materials and method: Eighty cases with diagnosis of Schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorders, bipolar affective disorder, persistent delusional disorder, unspecified nonorganic psychosis and no history of treatment with atypical antipsychotics in last 6 months were recruited from outpatient/ inpatient department of Institute of Mental Health, Amritsar, by purposive sampling after baseline screening and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. It was a Prospective Interventional study. Patients were assessed for their metabolic profile at baseline, 2- and 4- months. Result: Statistically significant difference was found in all the metabolic parameters, including body weight, blood pressure, BMI, fasting blood glucose, fasting triglycerides and fasting HDL, after 4 months of initiating olanzapine as compared to baseline. One-fifth of the patients had attained the criteria of metabolic syndrome at the end of four months, and this ratio showed minimal variation with gender. Conclusion: Metabolic impairments have become a persisting menace with currently preferred patterns of lifestyles and drug management. Psychiatrists must be vigilant enough towards the potential metabolic side effects of antipsychotic medications so that appropriate precautions can be implemented in a timely manner. The general treatment provided to patients with severe mental illness should be at par with care provided to other patients.

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