Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess efficacy of psychoeducation in limiting body mass gain in patients with schizophrenia undergoing atypical antipsychotics monotherapy treatment.
Methods: Education program Caring for Health and Silhouette, commissioned by Moneo Pharma Group, was implemented for patients with schizophrenia. The aim of the program was providing patients with information regarding lifestyle and nutrition.
Results: The one-year follow-up was completed by 7,541 patients. The mean BMI (body mass index) gain in one-year follow-up was 0.56 and the difference between men (0.52) and women (0.60) was statistically significant (p < 0.001). The mean one-year body mass gain was 1.63 kg, whilst the mean one-year increase in waist circumference was 1.25 cm. There were no statistically significant differences between sexes. The subjective evaluation of patient compliance increased systematically with every visit, both for men and women. High-compliance patients less frequently experienced body mass gain (p < 0.001), while obese patients experienced the greatest decrease in BMI.
Conclusions: Education program resulted in a decrease of body mass gain in obese patients treated with atypical antipsychotics. Patients with BMI ≥30 more often than other patients experienced the reduction of body mass during education program. The quality of cooperation during the first and second visit has a predictive value for the estimation of body mass changes during education program. This method of education is easy to implement in clinical practice.
Keywords: atypical antipsychotics; body mass; schizophrenia.