Obesity and Mental Health, Day 3: First Do No Harm



The 3rd and final day of the Hot Topics Conference on Obesity and Mental Health focussed on the potential obesogenic side effects of medications commonly used to manage mental health disorders.

As pointed out by Rohan Ganguli (Toronto), persons with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and other psychotic illnesses, have rates of obesity 2-3 times that of the general population. They also have 2-3 times the rates of diabetes, heart disease, and premature mortality, when compared to the general population. The increased prevalence of these chronic conditions are due to multiple factors, but it has become clear that certain antipsychotics, particularly some of the newer antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and antidepressants, contribute to the increased risk of obesity. His presentation provided a succinct overview of the evidence from controlled clinical trials regarding the risk of weight gain for different psychotropic medications. He also proposed prescribing strategies, which would minimize the exposure to these risks. This presentation was nicely complemented by Tony Cohn’s (Toronto) talk on the importance of metabolic monitoring for adults prescribed antipsychotic medications

This problem, unfortunately, is also relevant in the treatment of mental health disorders in kids. In her presentation on the Canadian Guidelines on Monitoring and Management of Metabolic Side Effects of Second Generation Antipsychotic Medications in Children, Tamara Pringsheim (Calgary) discussed the considerable evidence that second generation antipsychotic medications are associated with metabolic side effects in children, including weight gain, increased waist circumference and body mass index, as well as elevations in cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose and insulin levels. These metabolic complications can have long-term adverse effects on cardiovascular health. With the more widespread use of antipsychotic medications in children, there is a need for formal guidelines on how to monitor children for adverse effects of these medications.

The Canadian Alliance for monitoring Safety and Effectiveness of Antipsychotic medications in Children (CAmESA) guidelines seek to provide health care providers with evidence based recommendations on what, when and how to monitor children started on an antipsychotic medication for metabolic and extrapyramidal side effects. Companion guidelines have also been created which provide evidence based recommendations on the management of metabolic and extrapyramidal side effects if they are detected over the course of monitoring drug safety in kids.

The considerable problem of obesity and mental health in the Aboriginal population was discussed by Piotr Wilk from London, Ontario.

The issue of first doing no harm, especially in public messaging about obesity, was addressed by Gail McVey (Toronto). She noted that in our quest to prevent childhood obesity it is imperative that we avoid the costly mistake of triggering the competing public health issues of disordered eating, weight-related bullying and associated depression, anxiety and social exclusion. Professionals need to capitalize on opportunities for greater integration by agreeing to adopt a common set of child and youth health indicators and to settle on an integrated approach to prevention across the broad spectrum of weight-related problems. nowhere is this common vision more important than in the messaging delivered to children and youth about healthy weights.

Similarly, as pointed out by Annick Buchholz (Ottawa), dialogue between researchers and clinicians from the fields of eating disorders and obesity can take advantage of evidenced-based frameworks and key treatment approaches from the field of eating disorders and discuss its applications to working with individuals and families struggling with weight management issues. Treatment approaches such as externalizing the problem, promoting positive body image, de-emphasizing weight as a goal in treatment, understanding ambivalence, and working closely with families in treatment are all important approaches to this problem.

On a slightly different note, Peter Selby (Toronto) discussed the potential learning from tobacco prevention. Given that behaviours are determined by the net effects of the current and embodied opportunities and constraints in global, macro, mezzo, and micro environments interacting with biological and psychological abilities of the individual, disorders of consumption such as smoking and excess eating share common pathways and are modifiable through policy and clinical interventions. High reach interventions focussing on policy and legislation are likely to have a bigger impact on health than only a high risk approach to obesity. However, mitigation of unintended consequences of such measures must also be considered in order to prevent disparity in the disease burden.

Thus, after 3 days of intense presentations and discussions, I believe that the participants left with a much better appreciation and understanding of the links and commonalities between obesity and mental health.

I, for one, certainly felt very pleased to see many of the concerns and approaches discussed by the participants at this conference, nicely reflected in the 5As of Obesity Management.

Presentations from this conference are available for download here.

AMS
Edmonton, Alberta