Vulnerability to tardive dyskinesia

Of 99 consecutive male patients studied at the North Chicago VA Tardive Dyskinesia Program, 58 had tardive dyskinesia and 41 did not. Factors that were significantly related, singly and in combinations, to tardive dyskinesia were 1) diagnosis of affective disorder with alcoholism and/or drug-induced parkinsonism, and 2) diagnosis of schizophrenia with advanced age (over 50) and/or prolonged hospitalization (over 14 years). A diagnosis of schizophrenia in patients under age 50 with short hospitalizations was not significantly associated with the presence of tardive dyskinesia.