[Diabetes mellitus and atypical antipsychotics]

Schizophrenic patients present a higher risk for the development of hyperglycemic disorder and the use of antipsychotic drugs seems to increase the risk of diabetes mellitus. The present review concerns the relation between atypical antipsychotic drugs and the risk of developing diabetes mellitus. A Medline and Webofscience search was performed by using the terms "Hyperglycemia", "Diabetes Mellitus" and "Antipsychotic Agents", to identify original papers and reviews published between 1997 and september 2002. It is concluded that there is a higher risk of glycemic disorders in the population of patients treated by antipsychotic drugs. Dietetic measures and attention to risk factors should be taken into account during the treatment of psychotic patients.