Safety and tolerability of olanzapine compared with other antipsychotics in the treatment of elderly patients with schizophrenia: a naturalistic study.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the safety and tolerability of olanzapine in the treatment of elderly patients with schizophrenia.


METHODS
A total of 135 outpatients with schizophrenia > or =60 years of age were treated with olanzapine (n = 105) or another antipsychotic (n = 30) and followed up for 6 months. Safety measures included the recording of spontaneous adverse events and extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS). Clinical status and effectiveness of the medications were measured using the Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness and the Global Assessment of Function (GAF) scales. Quality of life was assessed by means of the Spanish version of the EuroQol. The Awad scale was applied to evaluate patients' subjective attitude towards medication.


RESULTS
The incidence of overall adverse events and EPS was non-significantly lower in patients treated with olanzapine than in patients treated with other antipsychotics. The use of anticholinergic drugs was significantly lower (P = 0.04) in patients treated with olanzapine. Both groups of patients experienced similar improvements in Clinical Global Impressions-Severity and GAF scores. Non-significantly greater improvement in the acceptance of medication occurred at endpoint in olanzapine-treated patients than in control patients as measured by the Awad scale. The improvement in the EuroQol quality of life scale achieved at the end of study did not differ between both treatment groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Results from this naturalistic study showed that olanzapine was as safe and effective as other antipsychotic drugs in the treatment of elderly patients with schizophrenia.
Ciudad
Antonio
A
Lilly Research Laboratories, 30 Avenida de la Industria, Alcobendas CP28108, Madrid, Spain. ciudad_antonio@lilly.com
Montes
José-Manuel
JM
Olivares
José-Manuel
JM
Gómez
Juan-Carlos
JC
D000368:Aged; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001480:Basal Ganglia Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology; D001569:Benzodiazepines / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000077152:Olanzapine; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D018967:Risperidone / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D001569:Benzodiazepines; D018967:Risperidone; D000077152:Olanzapine