Body mass index and prevalence of obesity in a French cohort of patients with schizophrenia

Objective: To evaluate the distributions of body mass index in a large sample of patients with schizophrenia, and to examine the association between body weight and antipsychotic drugs. Method: The data source was baseline data from a national survey conducted in 2005-2006 in 5756 patients. Results: The mean age of the patients was 37.1 +/- 11.8 years, and the mean BMI was 25.5 +/- 5.2 kg/m(2). In the final logistic regression model, the prevalence of obesity was significantly higher in female patients, age 40-59 vs. 18-29 years, patients in sheltered employment (vs. no income), out-patients (vs. full-time in-patients) and patients treated with concomitant antidepressant. There was a higher rate of obesity, relative to an absence of antipsychotics at entry, for patients receiving the following individual drugs: clozapine, olanzapine, risperidone and amisulpride. Conclusion: In patients treated with atypical antipsychotics, we found a significantly higher prevalence of obesity than in those not treated with any antipsychotic medication.