Diurnal variation of blood glucose during lithium treatment

Plasma glucose was analysed during a 24-hour period in 62 lithium-treated patients. Compared with 59 normal control persons and 80 psychiatric controls the lithium-treated patients with neutral mood had higher maximum glucose and higher mean plasma glucose. Depressed lithium-treated patients had lower mean plasma glucose than the neutral lithium-treated patients. Depressed patients among the psychiatric controls did not differ from the neutral patients in this group with respect to plasma glucose.