Addressing cardiometabolic risk during treatment with antipsychotic medications

To raise awareness of and inform evidence-based practice regarding medical and behavioral interventions for antipsychotic medication-induced metabolic abnormalities.

The current literature indicates that individuals with severe and persistent mental illness have significantly worse health outcomes and premature mortality than the general population, owing to a combination of under-recognition and treatment of medical risk factors, reduced access to care, sedentary lifestyle and poor diet, and the potential contribution of adverse metabolic side effects of antipsychotic medications such as weight gain, hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia. A combination of administrative, behavioral and medical approaches to addressing these medical risks may be more effective than any one of these approaches alone.

Treatment with antipsychotic medications can induce significant weight gain and abnormalities in lipid and glucose metabolism that increase risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes in a population already at risk from multiple other sources. Managing the side effects of antipsychotics and lowering risk in general is an important aspect of the management of chronic mental illness. There are a variety of effective medical and behavioral interventions that can be employed to achieve primary and secondary prevention aims.