Longitudinal impact of different treatment sequences of second-generation antipsychotics on metabolic outcomes: a study using targeted maximum likelihood estimation.
Yaning Feng, Kenneth Chi-Yin Wong, Perry Bok-Man Leung, Benedict Ka-Wa Lee, Pak-Chung Sham, Simon Sai-Yu Lui, Hon-Cheong So
{"title":"Longitudinal impact of different treatment sequences of second-generation antipsychotics on metabolic outcomes: a study using targeted maximum likelihood estimation.","authors":"Yaning Feng, Kenneth Chi-Yin Wong, Perry Bok-Man Leung, Benedict Ka-Wa Lee, Pak-Chung Sham, Simon Sai-Yu Lui, Hon-Cheong So","doi":"10.1017/S0033291725000935","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) cause metabolic side effects. However, patients' metabolic profiles were influenced by time-invariant and time-varying confounders. Real-world evidence on the long-term, dynamic effects of SGAs (e.g. different treatment sequences) are limited. We employed advanced causal inference methods to evaluate the metabolic impact of SGAs in a naturalistic cohort.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We followed 696 Chinese patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders receiving SGAs. Longitudinal targeted maximum likelihood estimation (LTMLE) was used to estimate the average treatment effects (ATEs) of continuous SGA treatment versus 'no treatment' on metabolic outcomes, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride (TG), fasting glucose (FG), and body mass index (BMI), over 6-18 months at 3-month intervals. LTMLE accounted for time-invariant and time-varying confounders. Post-SGA discontinuation side effects were also assessed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The ATEs of continuous SGA treatment on BMI and TG showed an inverted U-shaped pattern, peaking at 12 months and declining afterwards. Similar patterns were observed for TC and LDL, albeit the ATEs peaked at 15 months. For FG and HDL, the ATEs peaked at ~6 months. The adverse impact of SGAs on BMI persisted even after medication discontinuation, yet other metabolic parameters did not show such lingering side effects. Clozapine and olanzapine exhibited greater metabolic side effects compared to other SGAs.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our real-world study suggests that metabolic side effects may stabilize with prolonged continuous treatment. Clozapine and olanzapine confer higher cardiometabolic risks than other SGAs. The side effects of SGAs on BMI may persist after drug discontinuation. These insights may guide antipsychotic choice and improve management of metabolic side effects.</p>","PeriodicalId":20891,"journal":{"name":"Psychological Medicine","volume":"55 ","pages":"e123"},"PeriodicalIF":5.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12094659/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Psychological Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291725000935","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) cause metabolic side effects. However, patients' metabolic profiles were influenced by time-invariant and time-varying confounders. Real-world evidence on the long-term, dynamic effects of SGAs (e.g. different treatment sequences) are limited. We employed advanced causal inference methods to evaluate the metabolic impact of SGAs in a naturalistic cohort.
Methods: We followed 696 Chinese patients with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders receiving SGAs. Longitudinal targeted maximum likelihood estimation (LTMLE) was used to estimate the average treatment effects (ATEs) of continuous SGA treatment versus 'no treatment' on metabolic outcomes, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride (TG), fasting glucose (FG), and body mass index (BMI), over 6-18 months at 3-month intervals. LTMLE accounted for time-invariant and time-varying confounders. Post-SGA discontinuation side effects were also assessed.
Results: The ATEs of continuous SGA treatment on BMI and TG showed an inverted U-shaped pattern, peaking at 12 months and declining afterwards. Similar patterns were observed for TC and LDL, albeit the ATEs peaked at 15 months. For FG and HDL, the ATEs peaked at ~6 months. The adverse impact of SGAs on BMI persisted even after medication discontinuation, yet other metabolic parameters did not show such lingering side effects. Clozapine and olanzapine exhibited greater metabolic side effects compared to other SGAs.
Conclusions: Our real-world study suggests that metabolic side effects may stabilize with prolonged continuous treatment. Clozapine and olanzapine confer higher cardiometabolic risks than other SGAs. The side effects of SGAs on BMI may persist after drug discontinuation. These insights may guide antipsychotic choice and improve management of metabolic side effects.
期刊介绍:
Now in its fifth decade of publication, Psychological Medicine is a leading international journal in the fields of psychiatry, related aspects of psychology and basic sciences. From 2014, there are 16 issues a year, each featuring original articles reporting key research being undertaken worldwide, together with shorter editorials by distinguished scholars and an important book review section. The journal''s success is clearly demonstrated by a consistently high impact factor.