title: Extent of weight gain in patients with first-episode psychotic disorders after one year of antipsychotic treatment in Hong Kong.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to examine the extent of weight gain in a group of patients with first-episode psychotic disorders after receiving antipsychotic treatment for 1 year, and to examine any relationship with the type of antipsychotics prescribed.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 160 consecutive participants with 1-year history of first-episode psychotic disorders were recruited, and their body mass index values before and 1 year after antipsychotic treatment were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  About half of the participants gained more than 7% of their baseline body weight. In general, the participants gained a median weight of 4.8 kg (interquartile range, 0.7-9.0 kg) after 1 year of treatment. Forty percent of the female and 47% of the male participants were overweight after treatment. Patients taking second-generation antipsychotics had more severe weight gain than those taking first-generation agents. Olanzapine treatment was associated with the greatest weight gain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Weight gain is a significant problem even in the early stages of psychotic disorders. Health care professionals need to be aware of this issue and address it early in the course of management, so as to prevent harmful consequences of weight gain in the future.
authors.affiliation: Castle Peak Hospital, 15 Tsing Chung Koon Road, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong SAR, China. wmc009@ha.org.hk
authors.forename: M M C
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Wong