Bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and metabolic syndrome

There is a lack of data allowing direct comparison of MetS rates between individuals with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Among articles screened for suitability for inclusion in meta-analysis, 11 provided data on metabolic syndrome prevalence rates of 3,888 unique participants: 1,572 with bipolar disorder and 2,316 with schizophrenia. Individuals with metabolic syndrome were 705 among bipolar patients and 890 among schizophrenia patients. The random-effect pooled odds ratio (bipolar disorder vs. schizophrenia) was 1.01 (95%CI: 0.82–1.24; p=0.93), with low heterogeneity across the studies. Additional subgroup analyses did not reveal any significant difference. Our meta-analytic findings highlighted that individuals with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia have comparable chances of having metabolic syndrome.