Risk of developing diabetes and dyslipidemia among adolescents with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia

The risks of developing diabetes and dyslipidemia among adolescents with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have not been well-characterized. This study was designed to characterize these risks and compare them among adolescents in the general population.

This retrospective cohort study used claims data from a large U.S. health insurer to identify adolescents (13-17 years) with claims for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder from 1997 to 2006. Adolescents without evidence of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder were randomly selected for comparison. Study outcomes were new diagnoses of diabetes and dyslipidemia.

We identified 17,884 adolescents with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder and 188,059 for the general population cohort. The incidence rate per 100,000 person-years of diabetes was higher in the schizophrenia or bipolar disorder cohort [424.3 (95% CI: 344.5-517.3)] than in the general population cohort (90.0 [95% CI: 79.6-101.3]). The incidence rate per 100,000 person-years of dyslipidemia was 346.4 (95% CI: 274.9-431.0) in the schizophrenia or bipolar disorder cohort and 86.6 (95% CI: 76.4-97.7) in the general population cohort. The adjusted hazard ratios of developing diabetes and dyslipidemia in the schizophrenia or bipolar disorder cohort relative to the general population cohort were 1.76 (95% CI: 1.15-2.72) and 1.66 (95% CI: 1.22-2.28), respectively. Adolescents with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder treated with antipsychotics had a higher risk of developing diabetes and dyslipidemia than those who were untreated.

Adolescents with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder had significantly increased risks of developing diabetes and dyslipidemia compared to adolescents without these disorders.