Journal of International Psychiatry

[Abstract] Objective To investigate the effect of long-term administration of antipsychotic drugs on thyroid function in patients with chronic schizophrenia and results of liver ultrasonography. Methods The serum thyroid function of 100 patients with chronic schizophrenia (taking atypical antipsychotic drugs for more than 2 years, the observation group) and 100 healthy persons (control group) was determined by the chemiluminescence immunoassay, and the two groups underwent hepatobiliary ultrasonography. The abnormal rate of hepatobiliary ultrasound and its influencing factors were statistically analyzed. Results: After treatment, levels of serum thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) in the observation group were significantly lower, and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level was significantly higher than those in the same group before treatment and those in the control group after treatment (P < 0.05). The positive rate of hepatobiliary ultrasound in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group (43.00% vs 15.00%) (P < 0.05), and there were significant differences in the positive rate of hepatobiliary ultrasound between patients of different ages (< 50 years old and ≥ 50 years old), different courses of disease and medication time (2 ~ 5 years and ≥ 5 years) (P < 0.05) but there was no statistically significant difference in the positive rate of hepatobiliary ultrasound between different gender (P > 0.05). Conclusion Long-term administration of antipsychotic drugs can lead to changes of serum thyroid hormone levels in patients with chronic schizophrenia, and may damage the liver. Regular liver ultrasonography for thyroid function should be performed to find out the disease timely and carry out symptomatic treatment.

[Key words] Chronic schizophrenia; Atypical antipsychotic drugs; Thyroid function; Hepatobiliary ultrasonography screening