Low-dose quetiapine linked to increase in fasting triglyceride levels: Study

In a new study conducted by Mikkel Højlund and team it was shown that in all patients, low-dose quetiapine was linked to a significant rise in fasting triglycerides (fTG) and a fall in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), as well as a rise in hemoglobin (HbA1c), total cholesterol (TC), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in those with normal baseline values. The findings of this study were published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.

The use of quetiapine at recommended dosages has been linked to hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia. It is still unknown, nevertheless, if even commonly prescribed low-dose quetiapine causes major metabolic abnormalities. In order to ascertain whether low-dose, off-label quetiapine changes in levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) or lipid markers, this study was done.

Researchers used measures of HbA1c, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or fasting triglycerides within 365 days before and after quetiapine initiation to find new users of low-dose quetiapine (50mg pills) in Denmark between 2008 and 2018. In order to calculate the coefficients and 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) for changes in cardiometabolic parameters following the start of quetiapine, mixed-effects linear regression models were utilized. In order to reduce selection bias, inverse probability weighting was employed. Quetiapine doses greater than 50 mg were incorporated in sensitivity analysis.

The key findings of this study were:

1. Low-dose quetiapine commencement was linked with elevated fTG and decreased HDL-C among 106,711 eligible new low-dose users.

2. All three metabolic markers increased significantly among people with normal pre-quetiapine beginning levels, even if HbA1c did not alter significantly and TC and LDL-C even dropped when taking into account all patients.

3. Contrary to fTG, quetiapine had a dose-dependent negative metabolic effect on HbA1c, TC, LDL, and HDL-C.

Højlund, M., Støvring, H., Andersen, K., Correll, C. U., & Hallas, J. (2022). Impact of low‐dose quetiapine‐use on glycosylated haemoglobin, triglyceride and cholesterol levels. In Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.13515