The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome in psychiatric inpatients with primary psychotic and mood disorders

Patients with severe mental illness have elevated rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes compared with the general population, but little is known about the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome that predisposes patients with severe mental illness to both medical conditions. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome by surveying hospital records of psychiatric inpatients with severe mood and psychotic disorders. The study group was 102 consecutively admitted adult patients with a primary DSM-IV diagnosis of a mood or psychotic disorder. Criteria for comorbid metabolic syndrome required at least three of the five factors defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program. The prevalence of the metabolic syndrome was 38.6% in this cohort, and it was associated with increasing age, body mass index, and Caucasian ethnicity. The metabolic syndrome was common in this cohort of psychiatric inpatients, and the high rate of the metabolic syndrome likely represents an intermediate step in the future development of CVD and diabetes, which may provide a point of early intervention to prevent the occurrence of these two medical illnesses in chronically mentally ill patients.