Metabolic Side-effects in Patients Receiving Clozapine and Second-generation Antipsychotics in an Outpatient Clinic

Second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs), including clozapine, are commonly used nowadays as treatment for psychosis. There are increasing concerns about their related metabolic side-effects over weight gain, risks to cause glucose intolerance and hyperlipidemia, and a specific condition known as metabolic syndrome. All these side-effects might be associated with the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus.

This study is to analyze the simple physical measurements (weight and height) and venous blood tests (for fasting blood glucose and lipid) results collected routinely since 2008 (recommended by the local hospital authority as a territory-wide "SGAs Monitoring Program") from those outpatients receiving SGAs (amisulpride, aripiprazole, olanzapine, paliperidone, quetiapine, risperidone and ziprasidone) and/or clozapine, at a local psychiatric outpatient clinic in Hong Kong. The investigators hypothesized that there should be differential risks on metabolic side-effects amongst these SGAs.