Reducing metabolic syndrome in Australian patients: Metabolic Management During Antipsychotic Prescribing (MMAP) programme.

MetS was assessed using the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria.[3] Management strategies employed to address metabolic concerns were broadly categorised as providing lifestyle advice (e.g. diet and exercise), adjusting the dose of the current antipsychotic, switching to a different antipsychotic, adding a medical therapy (e.g. metformin, statin, ACE-inhibitor) or "other" (e.g. referral to another service). Keywords: metabolic syndrome; antipsychotics; screening; psychiatrists EN metabolic syndrome antipsychotics screening psychiatrists 84 89 6 03/09/22 20220201 NES 220201 The high rates of physical health problems - notably cardiovascular risk factors - in people with schizophrenia and related disorders has been highlighted in the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) clinical practice guidelines for the management of schizophrenia and related disorders.[1],[2] People with psychotic disorders have high rates of metabolic syndrome (MetS), and this in turn is associated with a doubling of the risk of developing cardiovascular disease within 5-10 years and up to five times greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes.[3],[4] MetS is also associated with an approximately two-fold increase in cardiovascular mortality[4] and a 1.5-fold increase in all-cause mortality.[5] People with psychotic disorders have high levels of co-morbidity and their life expectancy is significantly reduced compared to the general population.[6],[7] Cardiovascular disease contributes significantly to the poor health and early deaths of people with psychotic disorders.[7] There is general acknowledgement that certain antipsychotics carry a higher risk of metabolic problems than others. Discussion This clinical audit showed high rates of MetS in patients being treated with antipsychotic medications. [Extracted from the article]