Antipsychotic-induced MSEs: longitudinal interviews
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Behavioural determinants of developing antipsychotic-induced metabolic side effects: longitudinal interview study
IRAS ID
335951
Contact name
Sion Scott
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leicester
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 30 days
Research summary
Four in 1000 people will get a severe mental illness in their lifetime. Antipsychotic medicines are good at treating severe mental illness but can cause weight gain, high cholesterol and high blood sugars, called ‘metabolic side effects’. These happen in half of the people taking antipsychotic medicines and can be so bad that the person stops taking the medicine and their mental illness gets worse. People who get metabolic side effects are at high risk of getting type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The better the medicine works at treating the mental illness the worse the metabolic side effects tend to be.
Antipsychotic medicines can cause people’s behaviour to change which can cause metabolic side effects, e.g., eating more calories and/or doing less physical activity. We need a way of spotting when people’s behaviour changes and what the change is so that people can be given tailored support.
Aim:
To characterise the changes in behaviour that lead to the development of metabolic side effects when people start taking an antipsychotic medicine.Plan:
We will interview 20 participants who have recently started taking, or about to start taking, an antipsychotic medicine to discuss their experiences. Participants will keep a diary over a four-week period and this will be used to guide the discussion in a short weekly interview with the researcher (four weekly interviews) to discuss any changes in behaviour they have noticed. A final interview will take place in the fifth week to summarise participants' experiences. Each participant can also invite a family member, friend, or carer to discuss their experiences of supporting them when they have started taking an antipsychotic medicine.Lay summary of study results:
This research was sponsored by the University of Leicester and was funded by Pharmacy Research UK.
May 2024-April 2025We would like to thank everyone who participated in the study.
Public involvement played a key role in shaping this study. Seven people with lived experience of severe mental illness and developing metabolic side effects were involved in designing the research.
The research took place in two NHS Trusts in England. The research was needed to understand people's experiences of developing metabolic side effects (like rapid weight gain, high blood sugars, high cholesterol) when they started an antipsychotic medicine for their poor mental health.
Three participants took part in the study. They did not receive any additional treatments or interventions during the research to their antipsychotic medicine.
During the study, the participants took part in an online interview once a week for five weeks. The key results showed that during this time period, participants noticed that they felt hungrier than before. They noticed eating more food in general, as well as eating more unhealthy foods as the weeks went on. They also said that they felt more tired as the weeks went on, so were less likely to take leave the house, spend time with friends, or take part in physical activity. Participants noticed gaining some weight during the five weeks. This research showed that it is important that patients receive appropriate support to help them with healthy lifestyle habits when they start an antipsychotic medicine.
This research has helped towards a better understanding of the side effects people experience early on in their antipsychotic treatment. It provides valuable insights for both patients and healthcare professionals. It helps researchers and healthcare professionals to develop better interventions for patients.
To learn more about this study you can contact Emma Good (eng4@le.ac.uk)
REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
24/WA/0089
Date of REC Opinion
4 Apr 2024
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion