A six-to-ten weeks' follow-up study on the effects of olanzapine on abdominal fat and other metabolic parameters in patients with psychoses - An imaging-based study with controls

Objectives: To measure the changes in subcutaneous and intra-abdominal fat and other metabolic parameters in patients with psychotic disorders, who were newly started on olanzapine treatment and in drug-free controls. The correlation between changes in visceral fat and other metabolic parameters were also studied. Methods: Using a longitudinal open-label design, the 2 studied groups included patients with psychoses (n = 23) [diagnosed as per the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases criteria] and drug-free controls (n = 11). Fasting sugar, lipid profile and glycosylated haemoglobin levels were collected at baseline and follow-up. Computed tomographic scans were used to determine changes in the various abdominal fat parameters. Results: The patients were significantly younger than the controls, and the former had higher mean subcutaneous fat at baseline. There were statistically significant increases in the subcutaneous fat, intra-abdominal fat, weight, waist circumference, hip circumference and body mass index in patients but not in controls. The mean dose of olanzapine (mg / day) correlated significantly with change of intra-abdominal fat at follow-up. The change in intra-abdominal fat did not correlate significantly with any of the metabolic parameters studied. Conclusions: Olanzapine produced significant increase in weight and fat parameters. This increase correlated with the dose of olanzapine.