Second-Generation Antipsychotic Use in Children and Adolescents: A Six-Month Prospective Cohort Study in Drug-Naïve Patients

Objective To assess weight and metabolic effects of 6 months of treatment with second-generation antipsychotics in naïve/quasi-naïve youths. Method This study looked at a nonrandomized, naturalistic, multicenter, inception cohort study of 279 patients aged 4 to 17 years (mean = 14.6 ± 2.9 years). Of those, 248 (88.8%) received a single antipsychotic (risperidone, olanzapine, or quetiapine) and completed 2 visits, and 178 (63.8%) completed the 6-month follow-up. Patients had schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (44.5%), mood-spectrum disorders (23.2%), disruptive behavioral disorders (17.3%), or other disorders (15.1%). Fifteen age- and gender-matched, healthy, nonmedicated individuals served as a comparison group. Results From baseline to 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months, all anthropometric measures increased significantly with each antipsychotic, that is, 6-month changes with risperidone (n = 157; 7.1 kg and 0.66 body mass index [BMI] z score), olanzapine (n = 44; 11.5 kg and 1.08 BMI z score), and quetiapine (n = 47; 6.3 kg and 0.54 BMI z score), but not in healthy control participants (−0.11 kg and 0.006 BMI z score). Fasting metabolic parameters increased significantly with risperidone (glucose [3.8] mg/dL, insulin [4.9] mU/L, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance [HOMA-IR: 1.2], triglycerides [15.6] mg/dL), and olanzapine (glucose [5.0] mg/dL, total cholesterol [21.2] mg/dL, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [44.6] mg/dL), but not with quetiapine or in healthy control participants. The percentage of research participants considered to be “at risk of adverse health outcome” increased during the 6 months from 8.9% to 29.2% for risperidone ( p < .0001), 6.8% to 38.1% for olanzapine ( p