Overweight and the use of psychiatric drugs in patients with mental disorders attended at psychosocial care center in Teresina, Piaui, Brazil

Introduction: Psychopharmacology brought numerous benefits to people with mental disorders, although undesirable side effects have arisen, including weight gain. Objective: Identify the overweight frequency in individuals with mental disorders and its relation with the use of psychiatric drugs. Material and methods: Cross-sectional study with patients with mental disorders of both sexes, older than 18 years. Body Mass Index (BMI) Used to diagnose overweight (BMI >= 25 kg/m(2)). Chi-square test of Pearson (chi(2)) and Poisson regression:were used for analytical statistics for association between variables. Results: The study involved 109 individuals. Overweight was found in 70.7% of the study population, 29.4% presented pre-obesity, 26.6% were obese class I, 8.3%, obese class II, and 6.4% obese grade III (morbid). The overweight prevalence was significantly higher among patients who used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants (PR = 1,42, 95% CI 1,12 to 1,80, p = 0,004), typical antipsychotics (PR = 1,43, 95% CI 1,13 to 1,80, p = 0,003), atypical antipsychotics (PR=1,24, 95% CI 1,01 to 1,54, p = 0,045) and benzodiazepines (PR =1,37, 95% CI 1,10 to 1,71, p = 0,004) when compared to those who used tricycle antidepressants (PR = 1,20, 95% CI 0,93 to 1,54, p = 0,153) and mood stabilizers (PR =1,09, 95% IC 0,88 to 1,35, p = 0,416). Conclusion: High prevalence of overweight significantly higher among patients who used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants, typical and atypical antipsychotics and benzodiazepines.