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Published on: June 11, 2012
Clinical improvement in schizophrenia during antipsychotic treatment in relation to changes in glucose parameters: A
Emily Chen Chen Smith1, Emily Au2, Sandra Pereira3
1Schizophrenia Division, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 1051 Queen St. W, Toronto, ON M6J 1H3, Canada; Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Medical Sciences Building, Room 2374, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.
Abstract:
Antipsychotics (APs) are the cornerstone of treatment for schizophrenia (SCZ) spectrum disorders. Previous research suggests that there may be a positive association between AP-induced weight gain and/or dyslipidemia and improvement in psychiatric symptoms, often referred to as a "metabolic threshold". To determine whether a similar relationship exists for glucose parameters, we conducted a systematic search in six databases from inception to June 2022 for all longitudinal studies that directly examined the relationship between changes in glucose-related outcomes and changes in psychopathology among patients with SCZ treated with APs. We identified 10 relevant studies and one additional study that considered cognition. In most cases, we found that increased levels of fasting glucose and insulin following treatment were associated with clinical improvement. These findings contribute to existing literature that could suggest a common mechanism between AP action and metabolic side effects and support a need for additional work aimed at exploring the validity of a glucose-psychopathology relation in SCZ.
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