Risk Factors for Overweight and Diabetes mellitus in Residential Psychiatric Patients

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of and risk factors for overweight and diabetes mellitus in long-stay psychiatric inpatients. Method: Statistical analysis of data collected from medical, laboratory, and pharmacy files. Results: 80% of the 256 patients were suffering from schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 15%. The prevalence of a disturbed glucose tolerance was 14%. Severe overweight (BMI > 30) was positively associated with the use of clozapine (odds ratio (OR) = 2.7; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.31-5.75), but negatively with the diagnosis schizophrenia (OR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.22-0.88). Diabetes mellitus was associated with severe overweight (OR = 3.5; 95% CI: 1.57-7.69). Caucasian patients were at a lower risk for diabetes mellitus (OR = 0.2; 95% CI: 0.08-0.54). Conclusions: In residential psychiatric patients, diabetes mellitus is especially associated with overweight and non-Caucasian origin. In this survey, the use of clozapine was associated with overweight, but not directly with diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus is highly prevalent, which calls for screening for diabetes mellitus at regular intervals.