Cardiovascular diseases and use of antipsychotics in schizophrenia: a review

Abstract

Objective: To perform a scoping review of cardiovascular and metabolic adverse effects associated with the use of antipsychotics in people diagnosed with schizophrenia. Methods: A scoping review was conducted based on the PubMed database containing MeSH descriptors related to cardiovascular diseases and antipsychotics. At first moment, 976 articles were found, which were filtered by titles, followed by abstracts, and then fully read. In the end 71 articles were selected for the analysis. Results: The use of typical and atypical antipsychotics for the treatment of schizophrenia is associated with glycemic and lipid abnormalities, metabolic syndrome, hypertension, obesity/weight gain, and cardiovascular morbidities. The literature showed underdiagnosis and undertreatment of chronic diseases in this population. Mortality from cardiovascular disease showed a considerable increase in patients under treatment with antipsychotic agents, compared to the general population. Conclusion: Factors, still not entirely determined, in the psychopharmacology of antipsychotics have been shown to be related to an increased risk of metabolic, behavioral and intrinsic disorders in people diagnosed with schizophrenia, which may worsen the clinical course of such illnesses. It is recognized that there is a need to improve the monitoring and diagnosis of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases among people diagnosed with schizophrenia on treatment with typical and atypical antipsychotics.