Behavior disorders in persons with mental retardation receiving antipsychotic medication

The behavior disorders of mentally retarded individuals receiving antipsychotic medication and the relationship between behavior disorders and the daily dose of drug were investigated. Of 355 residents of residential facilities in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan (age range, 7-64 years), the problem behaviors of 54 subjects receiving antipsychotic drugs were compared to those of 52 subjects receiving anticonvulsants and of 202 subjects without any medication at all, using the Japanese version of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC-J). All five subscale scores of the ABC-J were significantly higher for the antipsychotic group than for those of the other groups, whereas only the Irritability subscale was prominent in the subjects receiving anticonvulsants. The mean chlorpromazine equivalent dose was higher in the subjects with severe/profound disability than in those with mild/moderate disability and correlated with the Hyperactivity subscale scores. The problem behaviors of individuals with mental retardation prescribed antipsychotic drugs were more severe than those without medication; more severe disability and higher Hyperactivity scores were associated with dose of antipsychotic drugs.