Prevalence of metabolic syndrome among Psychiatric Patients in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana

Authors

  • WKBA Owiredu
  • O Osei
  • N Amidu
  • J Appiah-Poku
  • Y Osei

Abstract

This cross-sectional study seeks to find the prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS), its indi-vidual components and oxidative stress in psychiatric patients on antipsychotic medication com-pared to newly diagnosed patients attending the Psychiatric Department of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Kumasi, Ghana, between February 2009 and July 2010. A total of 200 psychiatric patients comprising 100 newly diagnosed antipsychotic-naïve patients and 100 patients on antipsychotic medication were sampled for the study. MetS was diagnosed using the World Health Organization (WHO), International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the National Choles-terol Education Programme, Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP ATP III) criteria. The overall prevalence of MetS was 11.5%, 13.5% and 15.5% using NCEP ATP III, WHO and IDF criteria re-spectively. The prevalence was significantly higher among psychiatric patients on treatment as compared to treatment-naïve group using NCEP ATP III (21.0% vs. 2.0%; p < 0.0001) and IDF (29.0% vs. 2.0%; p < 0.0001) criteria but not WHO (13.0% vs. 14.0%; p = 0.8372). These overall prev-alence rates were higher compared to the general Ghanaian population prevalence rates of 3.9%, 2.2% and 7.8% determined with the NCEP ATP III, WHO and IDF criteria respectively. Regular monitoring of metabolic parameters should be considered as a standard part of their medical care.Keywords: Diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, oxidative stress, mental illness Journal of Medical and Biomedical Sciences (2012) 1(2), 38-49

Author Biographies

WKBA Owiredu

Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

O Osei

Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

N Amidu

Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Ghana

J Appiah-Poku

Department of Behavioural Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

Y Osei

Department of Behavioural Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana

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