ANTIPSYCHOTICS AND DIABETES: A CURRENT PERSPECTIVE ON EPIDEMIOLOGY

Michael J. Sernyak, M.D., 950 Campbell Avenue, #116A, West Haven, CT 06516

There have been reports describing the development of diabetes following initiation of some of the atypical neuroleptics. These have consisted primarily of case reports and a few relatively small studies comparing the rates of diabetes in patients treated with atypical neuroleptics and controls. This presentation will report on data obtained from 38,632 patients with schizophrenia treated in the VA system, which demonstrated that the risk of diabetes was significantly increased for clozapine, olanzapine, and quetiapine, but not risperidone. Data comparing the rates of diabetes observed both by specific neuroleptic and age will also be presented. In addition, recent data in a smaller group of patients on rates of impaired glucose metabolism in the absence of frank diabetes will be reported. The historical context of observed rates of diabetes with typical neuroleptic treatment and prior to the introduction of neuroleptics will be reviewed.