title: Lipid profile in antipsychotic drug users: A comparative study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Schizophrenic patients who receive antipsychotic drugs may be highly prone to metabolic disorders such as weight gain, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. The objective of the present study was to compare the effect of atypical and conventional antipsychotics on lipid profile.
  
  
  METHODS
  128 schizophrenic patients were enrolled into the study. Patients were divided into two groups. One group had received one type of atypical antipsychotic drug, and, the other, one type of conventional antipsychotic drug. They were considered as atypical and conventional groups. Moreover, both groups had not used any other antipsychotic drugs during the past year. Demographic data and food frequency questionnaire were completed by the participants. Serum triglyceride, total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterols, and apolipoprotein A and B (Apo B) were tested by blood sample drawing after 12 hours of fasting through the antecubital vein. Student's t-test was used to compare atypical and conventional groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was no significant difference in age, gender, duration of illness, period of drug consumption, and age at onset of illness in the two groups. Patients in the atypical group used clozapine and risperidone (46.9%) more than olanzapine. In the conventional group 81.3% of patients used phenothiazines. Comparison between lipid profile in the conventional and atypical groups showed a significantly higher mean in TC (P = 0.01), LDL (P = 0.03), and Apo B (P = 0.01) in conventional group than the atypical group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In schizophrenic patients, the level of lipid profile had been increased in both atypical and conventional antipsychotic users, especially conventional users, so the effect of antipsychotic drugs should be investigated periodically.
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Cardiac Rehabilitation Research Center, Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors.forename: Hamidreza
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Roohafza
authors.forename: Azam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Khani
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Afshar
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Garakyaraghi
authors.forename: Afshin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amirpour
authors.forename: Basir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ghodsi
keywords: Atypical Antipsychotic; Conventional Antipsychotic; Lipid Profile