Liraglutide effective for Weight loss in Patients With Severe Mental Illness
The prevalence of overweight and obesity is 2-3 times higher among people with schizophrenia than in the general population. In a recent study, researchers have reported that liraglutide potentially reduced the BMI, waist circumference and improves HbA1c when compared with placebo. The study findings were published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism on February 02, 2021.
Weight gain occurs early in the natural history of schizophrenia with a significant proportion of people with first-episode psychosis being overweight before treatment. Substantial weight gain, often more than 7%, occurs rapidly within 6-8 weeks after antipsychotic treatment initiation. Although previous studies suggest a potential use of GLP-1 receptors agonists to treat antipsychotic-induced weight gain, the doses used were the diabetes doses rather than obesity dose. Therefore, researchers of the Moorgreen Hospital, UK conducted a study to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of using liraglutide 3.0 mg daily to address this problem.
It was a double‐blind, randomised, placebo‐controlled pilot trial in 47 adults with schizophrenia, schizoaffective, or first‐episode psychosis prescribed antipsychotic medication who were overweight or obese. Researchers administered once-daily subcutaneous liraglutide or placebo, titrated to 3.0 mg daily, for 6 months. The major outcome assessed was recruitment, consent, retention and adherence. They also assessed weight, HbA1c and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale.
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