title: Metabolic syndrome in Tunisian bipolar I patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The metabolic syndrome is a growing global public health problem which is frequently associated with psychiatric illness.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome and to study its profile in Tunisian bipolar I patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Our study included 130 patients with bipolar I disorder diagnosed according to the DSM-IV and assessed for metabolic syndrome according to the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel (ATP) III modified criteria. The mean age was 37.9 ± 12.1 years, 45 were women (mean age 37.5 ± 13.4 years) and 85 were men (mean age 38.1 ± 11.4 years).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 26.1%.The highest prevalence of this syndrome was obtained by association between obesity, low c-HDL and hypertriglyceridemia (44.1%). In the total sample, 59.2% met the criteria for low c-HDL, 53.1% for hypertriglyceridemia, 33.8% for obesity, 16.1% for high fasting glucose and 5.4% for hypertension. Gender, age, illness episode and treatment were not significantly associated with metabolic syndrome, while patients under lithium had higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome than those under valproic acid, carbamazepine or antipsychotics. Patients with metabolic syndrome had significant higher levels of HOMA-IR and uric acid than metabolic syndrome free patients (p< 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Bipolar patients have high prevalence of metabolic syndrome which is associated with insulin resistance and an increase of uric acid values that raise the risk of cardiovascular disease.
authors.affiliation: University Hospital of Monastir, Laboratory of Biochemistry-Toxicology, Tunisia. ezzaherasma@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ezzaher
authors.forename: Mouhamed D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Haj
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mechri
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Neffati
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Douki
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gaha
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Najjar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000150:complications*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015228:Hypertriglyceridemia / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D007333:Insulin Resistance; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D008076:Cholesterol, HDL; D014280:Triglycerides