Abstract

Objective: This study examined the proportion of overweight in schizophrenia inpatients in selected Asian countries and territories and its independent demographic and clinical correlates. Method: Data on 1,534 hospitalized schizophrenia patients in 9 Asian countries and territories were collected by a review of medical files supplemented by a clinical interview during a 1-month period. Patients’ sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, prescriptions of psychotropic drugs, and Body Mass Index (BMI) were recorded using a standardized protocol and data collection procedure. For analyzes, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m² was defined as overweight. Results: The proportion of overweight was 35.8% (549/1,534) in the entire sample, with 39.7% (224/564) in females and 33.5% (325/970) in males (p = 0.01) and with wide inter-country variations. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that after controlling for study sites, overweight was independently associated with more frequent use of mood stabilizers (p < 0.001, odds ration (OR) = 1.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.1 – 1.8) and longer length of illness (p < 0.001, OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.2 – 2.1) but was less likely found in male patients (p = 0.003, OR = 0.7, 95% CI = 0.5 – 0.8). Conclusions: The prevalence of overweight Asian schizophrenia patients is significantly lower than the reported figures among their Western counterparts. There is considerable variation in prevalence of overweight schizophrenia patients within Asian countries and territories.

Author Details

Authors

• Fei Wang¹
• Yu-Tao Xiang¹
• Gabor S. Ungvari²,³
• Chee H. Ng⁴
• Helen F.K. Chiu⁵
• Wei Zheng⁶
• Chay-Hoon Tan⁷
• Naotaka Shinfuku⁸

Departments

• ¹ Unit of Psychiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Macau, Macao SAR, China,
• ² School of Psychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia,
• ³ University of Notre Dame Australia/Marian Center, Perth,
• ⁴ Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,
• ⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR,
• ⁶ Guangzhou Brain Hospital (Guangzhou Huiai Hospital), Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, China,
• ⁷ Department of Pharmacology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, and
• ⁸ International Center for Medical Research, Kobe University School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan

Address

Dr. Yu-Tao Xiang, MD, PhD
3/F, Building E12, Faculty of Health Sciences
University of Macau
Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR, China
Email: [email protected]

Citation