INTRODUCTION: Obesity is a major problem among children and adolescents suffering from chronic mental illness. State-of-the-art measures such as body mass index (BMI) and growth-related weight charts are now readily available to clinicians and investigators interested in psychotropic drug-associated weight gain in the pediatric population. However, no reports that utilize such measures in large series of children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders are available. METHODS: The authors employed the Nutstat module of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Epi Info software to assess BMI in a psychiatry inpatient child and adolescent population in Central Virginia. The authors also developed a scoring system to relate psychotropic administration to BMI. RESULTS: Children and adolescents with chronic mental illness had greater BMI measurements than the general pediatric population. Our scoring system found a relationship between antipsychotic drug administration and increased BMI that almost reached a level of significance (p=0.062). CONCLUSIONS: The present methodology using absolute weight to assess psychotropic drug-associated increase in body weight for children and adolescents is unsatisfactory. The authors offer a new and convenient methodology to correct this problem.
INTRODUCTION: Obesity is a major problem among children and adolescents suffering from chronic mental illness. State-of-the-art measures such as body mass index (BMI) and growth-related weight charts are now readily available to clinicians and investigators interested in psychotropic drug-associated weight gain in the pediatric population. However, no reports that utilize such measures in large series of children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders are available. METHODS: The authors employed the Nutstat module of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Epi Info software to assess BMI in a psychiatry inpatient child and adolescent population in Central Virginia. The authors also developed a scoring system to relate psychotropic administration to BMI. RESULTS:Children and adolescents with chronic mental illness had greater BMI measurements than the general pediatric population. Our scoring system found a relationship between antipsychotic drug administration and increased BMI that almost reached a level of significance (p=0.062). CONCLUSIONS: The present methodology using absolute weight to assess psychotropic drug-associated increase in body weight for children and adolescents is unsatisfactory. The authors offer a new and convenient methodology to correct this problem.
Authors: W Victor R Vieweg; Demetrios A Julius; Antony Fernandez; Daniel M Tassone; Shireesha N Narla; Anand K Pandurangi Journal: Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry Date: 2006
Authors: Lauren D Garfield; Derek S Brown; Benjamin T Allaire; Raven E Ross; Ginger E Nicol; Ramesh Raghavan Journal: Am J Public Health Date: 2015-01-20 Impact factor: 9.308