Content area
Full Text
Ginger Nicol. 1 Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.
Elizabeth Worsham. 2 Department of Psychiatry, Forensic Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
Debra Haire-Joshu. 3 Joyce Wood Professor and Associate Dean for Research & Faculty, George Warren Brown School of Social Work Director, Center for Diabetes Translation Research and the Center for Obesity Prevention and Policy Research, Washington University, St. Louis, MO.
Alexis Duncan. 4 Assistant Professor of Public Health, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, St. Louis, MO and Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.
Julia Schweiger. 5 Clinical Lab Manager, Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.
Michael Yingling. 6 Senior Data Analyst, Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.
Eric Lenze. 7 Professor of Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.
Address correspondence to: Ginger Nicol, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Healthy Mind Lab, Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, 660 South Euclid Avenue, Campus Box 8134, St. Louis, MO 63110, E-mail: nicolg@psychiatry.wustl.edu
Introduction
Between 41% and 50% of individuals with serious mental illnesses are obese.1 On average, mentally ill individuals lose 25-30 years of life as a result of obesity-related illnesses, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD).2 Higher rates of obesity in this population are, in part, attributable to antipsychotic treatment, which has well-established effects on adiposity and glucose regulation.3 Thus, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) has identified individuals with mental illness, including those treated with antipsychotic medications, as a "special population" at increased risk for the development of obesity, diabetes, and CVD. 4 The prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) among youth in the general population is 0.46 per 1000 youth,5 with the majority of new-onset cases explained by high weight.6 Youth who are treated with antipsychotic agents experience significant treatment-related weight gain7 and are 2-3 times more likely to develop T2D than youth in the general population.5,6,8-10 Antipsychotic medications are commonly used in youth to manage irritability and aggression across a range of psychiatric diagnoses, such as attention deficit hyperactivity...