Introduction
Metabolic syndrome is a prevalent illness that is negatively impacting the health of individuals around the world. This prevalence is due to a rise in the rates of adult obesity, and is resulting in excess mortality due to an elevated risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes.1,3 It is defined as a cluster of conditions that occur together, which increases the individual’s risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.2 Metabolic risk factors responsible for this syndrome include having a large waistline, a high triglyceride level, a low HDL cholesterol level, high blood pressure, and high fasting blood sugar.1 Three of these risk factors must be present in order to be diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, with the risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke increasing with each risk factor an individual may present.1
Although this increasing trend for obesity spans across populations, it is especially prominent among individuals with schizophrenia.3 Evidence to support this has been demonstrated throughout the literature. In a study conducted by Allison et al., 42% of individuals with schizophrenia were found to have a body mass index (BMI) greater than 27 kg/m2, compared to 27% of the general population.3,4 Also compared to the general population, schizophrenic patients have been shown to have 20% shorter lifespans, reflecting this population’s high prevalence of chronic conditions such as diabetes, coronary artery disease, and hypertension.5
There are many factors that contribute to this populations’ increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome. One of the most prominent factors is the use of atypical antipsychotic drugs. Despite their effectiveness in treating the positive and negative symptoms as...
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Increasingly, scientists are focusing on a common set of underlying metabolic issues that raise people's risk for chronic disease.
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The chance of an individual in the general population without a family history of schizophrenia is currently at one percent. An individual with a parent with the illness has a 10 percent chance of developing the illness and an ind...
Schizophrenia is a severe and debilitating mental disorder that affects approximately 1% of the population worldwide (Mamani, Gurak, & Suro, 2014). Schizophrenia is characterized by positive symptoms, including hallucinations, delusions and disorganized thinking and speech, as well as negative symptoms, including flat affect, apathy, lack of motivation or drive and social isolation. Schizophrenia is also associated with cognitive, social, and functional deficits and abnormalities in mood, such as anxiety and depression (Larson, Walker, & Compton, 2010). Due to the chronic and impairing nature of schizophrenia, recent research has focused on identifying and treating individuals in the prodromal phase of illness, also referred to as the at-risk mental state or ARMS (Tiffin & Welsh, 2013). The prodrome or ARMS refers to the period of time beginning with declines in areas including cognition and social, emotional and perceptual functioning, and ending with the onset of a schizophrenia spectrum disorder (White, Anjum, & Schulz, 2006). Identification and treatment of the prodromal period is of utmost importance, as research has shown that a longer duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is associated with poorer prognosis for patients (Kaur & Cadenhead, 2010; Larson et al., 2010).
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Metabolic Syndrome (syndrome X, insulin resistance syndrome) is the name for a group of risk factors that raise your risk for diabetes mellitus (DM), cardiovascular disease (CVD), and other health problems, such as diabetes and stroke.2 It is characterized by abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, low HDL, and elevated triglycerides. Some hallmarks of metabolic syndromes are dyslipidemia, central adiposity, and a predisposition to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Genetics appears to play an important role in predisposing certain individuals and populations to the development of metabolic syndrome.1 Multiple environmental factors modify this genetic predisposition and include physical inactivity, advancing age, cigarette smoking, and endocrine dysfunction. The presence of one or either of these signs should alert the clinician to search for other biochemical abnormalities that may be associated with the metabolic syndrome.
One of the most surprising yet basic and simple facts of schizophrenia is one that is often unknown and underestimated, that being the prevalence of the illness. While many think it a rare disorder that only a select few possess, quite the opposite is true. Approximately 1% of the world population develops schizophrenia and in the United States, around 3 million people are afflicted by the illness (Nemade and Dombeck, www.mentalhelp.net). In the United States, there are twice as many people suffering from schizophrenia as Alzheimer’s, five times as many as MS and sixty times as many as muscular dystrophy (www.schizophrenia.com). Ranking in the top ten most common disabling conditions (www.psychiatrictimes.com), schizophrenia, instead of a confined and uncommon, is one of the most prevalent and distributed illnesses worldwide.
Schizophrenia is a devastating and costly mental disorder that affects 1% of population worldwide. Patients manifest clusters of positive, negative and cognitive symptoms in early twenties and are often left with life-long severe mental disability and social stigma. Cognitive deficits in patients with schizophrenia are considered core symptoms of this disorder, and can manifest at the initial stage (Elvevåg and Goldberg, 2000). Atypical antipsychotics ameliorate positive symptoms but may only modestly improve cognitive symptoms (Richelson, 2010). In addition to this, some of the typical antipsychotics are even have deteriorative effects on cognitive symptoms (Heaton and Crowley 1981). To find the appropriate treatments for cognitive deficits of schizophrenia, it is important to know the underlying pathophysiology.
Voruganti, L. P., Whatham, J., Bard, E., Parker, G., Babbey, C., Ryan, J., & ... MacCrimmon, D. J. (2006). Going beyond: An adventure- and recreation-based group intervention promotes well-being and weight loss in schizophrenia. Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry, 51(9), 575-580.
The relationship between obesity and health has been a major factor in drawing national attention to the growing prevalence of obesity. As the second leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States, obesity claims approximately 300,000 lives each year (Salinsky & Scott, 2003). Obesity is strongly associated with multiple chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, stroke, type 2diabetes, and with some forms of cancer, such as uterine, gall bladder, breast, colon, and kidney. Other conditions, such as sleep apnea, asthma, arthritis, reproductive complications, and psychological disorders such as depression, can be attributed to obesity as well. Obese individuals have a 50 percent to 100 percent increased risk of death from all causes, compared with normal-weight individuals. Most of the increased risk is due to cardiovascular issues.
Carek and Dickerson (1999). Current Concepts in the Pharmachological Management of Obesity. Drugs, 57(6), 883-904.