The increase in risk of diabetes mellitus from exposure to second-generation antipsychotic agents

This is a review of the evidence for a link between exposure to second-generation antipsychotic agents and the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Most of this evidence comes from case series and retrospective pharmacoepidemiological studies. Exposure to second-generation antipsychotic agents increases the risk for diabetes mellitus compared to no exposure to antipsychotic drugs. The risk with second-generation antipsychotic agents compared to exposure to first-generation antipsychotics is smaller and not consistent. The differential risk among the second-generation antipsychotic agents has not yet been adequately established. Other risk factors for diabetes mellitus, such as advancing age, non-White ethnicity, family history, obesity, lack of physical activity and the diagnosis of schizophrenia, probably contribute more to the risk than exposure to any single antipsychotic drug. Clinicians are urged to manage risk by regularly monitoring all patients receiving second-generation antipsychotic agents for the emergence of diabetes mellitus.