Review
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SSRIs as Risk Reduction for Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Schizophrenia
Version 1
: Received: 6 October 2020 / Approved: 8 October 2020 / Online: 8 October 2020 (09:03:41 CEST)
How to cite: Bellon, A.; Nguyen, K. SSRIs as Risk Reduction for Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Schizophrenia. Preprints 2020, 2020100163. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202010.0163.v1 Bellon, A.; Nguyen, K. SSRIs as Risk Reduction for Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Schizophrenia. Preprints 2020, 2020100163. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202010.0163.v1
Abstract
Patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) are at high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) due to an inherited predisposition, a sedentary life style and the use of antipsychotic medications. Several approaches have been taken to minimize this risk but results continue to be unsatisfactory. A potential alternative is prescribing Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs). SSRIs decrease platelet aggregation and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease in patients with depression. We therefore aim to investigate whether there is evidence that supports the use of SSRIs to reduce the risk for CVD in SCZ. A systematic review of the literature revealed five published reports relating to the impact of SSRIs on CV risk in SCZ. Three trials assessed the influence on metabolic parameters of fluvoxamine when combined with clozapine. Two of those studies found improvements with fluvoxamine. Of the other two reports, one indicates SSRIs as a group caused minimal but statistically significant increments in total cholesterol, LDL and triglyceride. The second report suggests that when SSRIs are combined with antipsychotics, the metabolic impact depends on the antipsychotic prescribed. While there are promising results, further studies are needed to establish the impact of SSRIs on CV risk in SCZ.
Keywords
cholesterol; BMI; blood sugar; psychosis; LDL; HDL; antidepressants; antipsychotics; metabolism; metabolic abnormalities, platelet aggregation
Subject
Medicine and Pharmacology, Immunology and Allergy
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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