Therapy prevents weight from antipsychotics
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-09-20 11:13 NEW YORK - Early behavioral intervention prevents
a significant amount of the weight gain associated with antipsychotic drug
therapy, Spanish researchers report.
Up to 80 percent of patients taking antipsychotic drugs to treat
schizophrenia and other mental conditions gain a significant amount of weight.
To assess if drug-related weight gain can be attenuated, investigators used
early behavioral intervention (EBI), designed to teach patients ways to maximize
control over their weight, using nutrition, exercise and behavioral strategies.
Dr. Mario Alvarez-Jimenez of the University Hospital Marques de Valdecilla in
Santander, Spain, and others randomized 61 antipsychotic-na飗e patients diagnosed
with a psychiatric disorder to one of three treatments: risperidone (Risperdal),
haloperidol (Haldol), or olanzapine (Zyprexa). Patients were then randomized to
EBI or routine care.
EBI was initiated at the same time as drug therapy, with the intention of
preventing or minimizing weight gain.
By the end of the study period, patients randomized to EBI gained a mean of
4.1 kg compared with a mean gain of 6.9 kg in the routine care patients, which
was a significant difference.
BMI -- the ratio of height to weight -- increased by 1.40 in the EBI group
compared with 2.39 in patients who received routine, again a significant
difference favoring EBI. A weight gain of more than 7 percent over baseline
occurred in 39.3 percent of EBI patients compared with 78.8 percent in those
receiving routine care.
In the study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry,
Alvarez-Jimenez writes that "young patients displayed a good attitude toward
this preventive approach," with a 100 percent follow-up rate and high adherence
to ECI.
SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry September 2006.
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