Is antipsychotic polypharmacy associated with metabolic syndrome even after adjustment for lifestyle effects?: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Although the validity and safety of antipsychotic polypharmacy remains unclear, it is commonplace in the treatment of schizophrenia. This study aimed to investigate the degree that antipsychotic polypharmacy contributed to metabolic syndrome in outpatients with schizophrenia, after adjustment for the effects of lifestyle.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out between April 2007 and October 2007 at Yamanashi Prefectural KITA hospital in Japan.

Burden on family members of the mentally ill: a naturalistic study in Japan.

People with mental disorders often cause distress among their family members. We examined a total of 25 pairs of newly referred psychiatric patients and their family members to investigate the correlations between family burden and patient diagnosis (using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R [SCID] axis I disorders), symptomatic severity (Positive and Negative Symptoms Scales [PANSS]), global function (Global Assessment of Functioning [GAF]), and the general level of family function (Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale [FACES]). The subjective and objective burdens on the family were assessed by self-report.