ABSTRACT
To assess the frequency of hyperglycemia in chronic schizophrenics and describe its correlates. Cross-sectional study. This study was carried out in a Department of Psychiatry Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Karachi, Karachi Pakistan in the summer of 2007. Fifty patients suffering from chronic schizophrenia [14 female and 36 male], between the ages of 18 and 60 years, who had been taking antipsychotic medication for the past two years or more were included. These patients were assessed on detailed history, physical examination supported with fasting blood sugar, checked by glucometer, BMI, blood pressure and mental state examination by psychiatrists. A Positive association was found between hyperglycemia and chronic schizophrenia. 10% of the patients were found to be suffering from hyperglycemia. Out of these 8% had been on atypical antipsychotics on an average of 4 years. There was no relationship found between gender and altered blood glucose levels. There have been countless studies on the antipsychotics induced hyperglycemia in the past. Though the sample size of our study was small, but it established the contributory relationship between atypical antipsychotics and hyperglycemia in this part of the world. More studies with a larger sample size should be conducted in the near future