Metabolic Abnormalities Related to Treatment With Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors in Patients With Schizophrenia or Bipolar Disorder

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on cardiovascular risk factors in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. METHOD: We used data from a cross-sectional study on 1301 patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, of whom 280 were treated with SSRIs. The primary outcome variable was the serum concentration of total cholesterol. Secondary outcome variables were low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglyceride and glucose levels, body mass index, waist circumference, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. RESULTS: After adjusting for potential confounders, an SSRI serum concentration in the middle of the reference interval was associated with an increase of the total cholesterol level by 14.56 mg/dL (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.27–23.85 mg/dL, P = 0.002), the LDL cholesterol level by 8.50 mg/dL (CI 0.22–16.77 mg/dL, P = 0.044), the triglyceride level by 46.49 mg/dL (CI 26.53–66.46 mg/dL, P < 0.001) and the occurrence of the metabolic syndrome by a factor of 2.10 (CI 1.21–3.62, P = 0.008). There were also significant associations between the SSRI dose and total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol levels. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to reveal significant associations between SSRI use and metabolic abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Although the effects were statistically significant, alterations were small. Thus, the clinical impact of the findings is most likely limited.