Weight gain and increase in cholesterol in children and adolescents treated by second generation antipsychotics.

A paper published in the JAMA October 28th, 2009 brings out the consequences of second-generation antipsychotic drugs in children and adolescents, aged from 4 to 19 years, untreated before by antipsychotics, on body weight and some biological parameters such as cholesterol.

The patients were divided into 5 groups according to they were treated by aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone or untreated. At the end of 10 weeks of treatment the increase in body weight was  8.5 kg with olanzapine, 6.1 kg with quetiapine, 5.3 kg with risperidone and 4.4 kg with aripiprazole whereas there was no modification in the weight of untreated patients. Total cholesterol and triglycerides were clearly increased in the olanzapine and quetiapine groups.

The effects of second-generation antipsychotics on body weight and other cardiometabolic factors must be taken into account before their prescription.

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