Body mass index and prevalence of obesity in a French cohort of patients with schizophrenia

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the distributions of body mass index in a large sample of patients with schizophrenia, and to examine the association between body weight and antipsychotic drugs. Method: The data source was baseline data from a national survey conducted in 2005–2006 in 5756 patients. Results: The mean age of the patients was 37.1 ± 11.8 years, and the mean BMI was 25.5 ± 5.2 kg/m 2 . In the final logistic regression model, the prevalence of obesity was significantly higher in female patients, age 40–59 vs. 18–29 years, patients in sheltered employment (vs. no income), out‐patients (vs. full‐time in‐patients) and patients treated with concomitant antidepressant. There was a higher rate of obesity, relative to an absence of antipsychotics at entry, for patients receiving the following individual drugs: clozapine, olanzapine, risperidone and amisulpride. Conclusion: In patients treated with atypical antipsychotics, we found a significantly higher prevalence of obesity than in those not treated with any antipsychotic medication.