RESUMO
The relationship between glucose tolerance and psychiatric disorders is controversial. Most of the reports which have emanated mostly from North America have found either increased prevalence of diabetes amongst psychiatric patients or no relationship between psychiatric disorders and diabetes. In this study, we screened psychiatric outpatients and performed a standard oral glucose tolerance test in 29 of them. Of 59 patients studied, one was diabetic and two were found to have impaired glucose tolerance. Amongst those subjected to OGTT indices of glucose disposal were either as good as in the controls or were better than in the control subjects even though the psychiatric patients were generally more obese. Results from this study do not support the suggestion that there is increased impairment of glucose tolerance in subjects with psychiatric disorders at least in the Nigerian Africans that were tested. The improved disposal of ingested glucose in the patients is likely to be related to some of the antipsychotic drugs particularly chlorpromazine. The number of subjects tested is however small and more subjects especially those yet to be started on antipsychotic drugs will need to be studied to define in greater detail the relationship between the prevalence of glucose intolerance and psychiatric disorders in the African.
