Clozapine and diabetes risk

Patients taking the antipsychotic drug clozapine have a higher-than-average chance of developing diabetes, but recent research suggests that clinicians may not be finding at-risk patients.

In a study by Michael J. Sernyak Jr., M.D., HS ’91, professor of psychiatry, a screening of 121 patients taking clozapine—none previously diagnosed with diabetes—found that 23 percent showed elevated glucose levels, a frequent precursor to diabetes. The results suggested that a patient taking clozapine should be followed closely, said Sernyak, chief of psychiatry at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System in West Haven. Sernyak said that early intervention would reduce morbidity and the high costs of the complications of diabetes. The study was funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs and reported in May in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.