Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate correlation of peripheral blood cell counts with the dyslipidemia induced by olanzapine or clozapine in Chinese schizophrenia patients.
Methods: A total of 703 eligible schizophrenia patients were enrolled . The counts of red blood cell (RBC), platelet, white blood cell (WBC) and its subtypes, and serum lipids were determined for all participants before and after 2-4 weeks of olanzapine or clozapine treatment.
Results: The two representative second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs), olanzapine and clozapine, markedly caused dyslipidemia in Chinese schizophrenia patients. The tertiles of total RBC counts were positively associated with the odds of having abnormal triglyceride (p < .01) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels (.05). The tertiles of platelet counts were also positively associated with the odds of having abnormal total cholesterol (.03), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (p < .01), HDL-C (.01), and non-HDL-C (p < .01). However, the counts of WBC and its some subtypes were negatively correlated with the risk of dyslipidemia in these patients.
Conclusion: The profile of peripheral blood cells may be an early biomarker for predicting the risk of metabolic disorders and cardiovascular diseases in schizophrenia patients treated with SGAs.
Keywords: clozapine; dyslipidemia; olanzapine; peripheral blood cells; serum lipids.
© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.