A study found teens taking antipsychotics were three times more likely to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Patients who took Abilify, Seroquel, Risperdal Zyprexa, and other antipsychotics, were found to be more at risk of sudden-onset diabetes, Digital News Journal reported.
Antipsychotics are used to treat mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia and dementia to calm symptoms such as aggression, hallucinations and agitation. They are also prescribed for symptoms such as: "nausea, vomiting, and intractable hiccup," Medical News Today reported.
The number of young people who are prescribed antipsychotics is increasing, but the correlation between these drugs and diabetes has been largely unstudied.
Researchers analyzed data from patients between the ages of six and 24 who were members of the Tennessee Medicaid program. In the study, 28,858 patients had recently been prescribed antipsychotic drugs. The control group, consisting of 14,429 children and youths, had been prescribed psychotropic drugs as an alternative.
A follow up period one year later found 106 new cases of diabetes in the study participants, the patients who were taking antipsychotics had a three-fold chance of being diagnosed.
"In this cohort of children and youth who had recently initiated use of an antipsychotic or a control psychotropic drug, antipsychotic users had a risk of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes three-times greater than that for propensity score-matched controls," the study authors said, Medical News Today reported.
"The excess risk occurred within the first year of antipsychotic use, increased with cumulative antipsychotic dose, and was present for children six to 17 years of age. The increased risk persisted for up to one year following cessation of antipsychotic use," the researchers continued.
The researchers believe it is unusual that the diabetes sets in over the course of only one year.
Another recent study found antipsychotics could reduce the risk of cancer, Medical News Today reported.
A research team found the drugs were able to kill leukemia cells without affecting healthy blood cells.
