Body mass index (BMI) of drug-naïve psychotic adolescents based on a population of adolescent psychiatric inpatients

ObjectiveTo investigate the connection between overweight and first-episode schizophrenia spectrum as well as non-schizophrenia spectrum psychiatric disorders in adolescent male and female drug-naïve psychiatric inpatients, whose illness was early onset.MethodThree hundred twenty-three adolescents with no past or present psychiatric medication, 12–17 years of age, admitted to the psychiatric inpatient care (Oulu University Hospital, Northern Finland) between April 2001 and March 2006. DSM-IV diagnoses were based on the “Schedule for Affective Disorder and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children Present and Lifetime” (K-SADS-PL). An adolescent was defined as overweight if his or her BMI was greater than or equal to the 85th percentile.ResultsOverweight values were highest in drug-naïve adolescent boys with first-episode schizophrenia spectrum (RR: 2.5, 95%CI: 1.08–4.29) and non-schizophrenia spectrum (RR: 2.80, 95%CI: 2.20–3.45) disorders. The RR in girls with non-schizophrenia spectrum disorders was 1.73 (95%CI: 1.31–2.23), but in those with first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorders RR did not differ from general population.ConclusionsIn our study sample of first-episode schizophrenia spectrum drug-naïve adolescents, overweight was shown to be prevalent in all diagnostic groups other than first-episode schizophrenia spectrum psychotic girls. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study in which overweight was analyzed and verified among drug-naïve adolescent boys, suffering from first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorder. To what extent our results are applicable to other regions and study groups, remains to be seen.