Objective

Antipsychotics are associated with weight gain and diabetes. The risk and rate of diabetes in children and adolescents treated with antipsychotics is unclear.

Method

A longitudinal register linkage case-control study of diabetes in all psychiatric patients aged <18 years in Denmark was performed from January 1999 through the end of June 2010. Patients with and without antipsychotic exposure were compared regarding the occurrence of type 2 diabetes, defined as the prescription of oral antidiabetic medication. Regression analyses with type 2 diabetes as the dependent variable were conducted with sex, age, and diagnoses as covariates.

Results

We compared the risk of diabetes in 48,299 psychiatrically ill youth. Of 7,253 youth exposed to antipsychotics, 52 (0.72%; 95% CI = 0.52% - 0.91%) developed type 2 diabetes. Of 41,046 youth without exposure to antipsychotics, 111 (0.27%; 95% CI = 0.22% - 0.32%) developed type 2 diabetes. In a 25,033 + 16,013 logistic regression analysis, type 2 diabetes development was associated with antipsychotic drug exposure (odds ratio [OR] = 1.60; 95% CI = 1.08 - 2.36, p < .05) female sex, (OR = 4.48; 95% CI = 2.90 - 6.91, p < 0.001) and older age at first psychiatric diagnosis (OR = 1.19; 95% CI = 1.12 - 1.27, p < 0.001), but not with psychiatric diagnosis. In a Cox-regression analysis, shorter time to type 2 diabetes onset was associated with female sex (Hazard Ratio (HR) = 4.83; 95% CI = 3.05–7.66, p = 0.001), and older age at first psychiatric diagnosis (HR = 1.19; 95% CI = 1.12-1.28, p = 0.001), while antipsychotic exposure (HR) = 1.41; 95% CI = 0.92-2.16, p = 0.11) trended towards increasing the rate of diabetes.

Conclusion

Antipsychotic treatment, female sex, and older age at psychiatric diagnosis were associated with a significantly more frequent type 2 diabetes onset in children and adolescents. Strict indications for antipsychotic treatment and routine cardiometabolic monitoring are crucial.