Diabetes mellitus onset in geriatric patients: does long-term atypical antipsychotic exposure increase risk?

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) in common in adults using psychotropic medications. However, it remains largely unknown whether there is an additional risk of diabetes mellitus (DM) in elderly psychiatric outpatients, particularly those with long-term exposure to atypical antipsychotics (AP).

Methods: In this retrospective longitudinal study, 61 atypical AP-exposed and 64 atypical AP-unexposed geriatric psychiatric patients were compared to a group of 200 psychotropic-naïve controls.

Chronic renal failure in lithium-using geriatric patients: effects of lithium continuation versus discontinuation--a 60-month retrospective study.

Objective: Lithium remains an important treatment in bipolar disorder. Although lithium is often discontinued because of signs of renal failure, it is unclear if this alters the course of renal function in the majority of patients. We hypothesize that in geriatric patients with chronic renal failure (CRF), who have a high burden of medical illness, lithium continuation does not significantly impact renal function (glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)).