For the study, researchers from Canada's Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences at the University of Toronto and Women's College Research Institute at Women's College Hospital analyzed data on "13,817 diabetic patients who were 66 and older" who "started taking antipsychotics between April 2002 and March 2006." Next, the team "compared these patients' hospitalization rates for hyperglycemia with the rates of patients who had stopped taking antipsychotic medications for more than 180 days."

"Of the 13,817 people studied, 11 percent were hospitalized for hyperglycemia, diabetic ketoacidosis, or hyperosmolar coma," WebMD (7/28, Warner) explained. Notably, the investigators "found that those who were taking an antipsychotic were about one-and-a-half times more likely to be hospitalized for hyperglycemia than those who stopped taking the medications at least 180 days prior," with the risk being "highest among those who had just started taking an antipsychotic." In fact, "the results showed the risk of hyperglycemia was increased in elderly people with diabetes regardless of the type of antipsychotic...they used."

MedWire (7/28, Albert) noted that the study authors concluded that "the risk of diabetes may be partly related to chronic effects of the weight gain associated with antipsychotic agents," but "case reports of acute hyperglycemia after the initiation of therapy with" antipsychotics "suggest that they may also be associated with acute glycemic changes." Therefore, they urged "patients and their families" to "observe for signs of glycemic decompensation when treatment with an antipsychotic agent is initiated," and recommended "enhanced glucose monitoring...for all patients for whom an antipsychotic" medication "is prescribed, particularly after treatment initiation."

Related Links:

- Older Diabetics Should Avoid Dementia Meds," Dennis Thompson, Healthday, July 29, 2009.
- Antipsychotics Risky for Elderly With Diabetes," Jennifer Warner, WebMD, July 28, 2009.