PREscription of statins and antipsychotics associated with diabetes deVelopmENT (PREVENT).

PI Title: Dr Juan Carlos Bazo Alvarez

Lead member: UCL

"People who take antipsychotic medication are more likely to develop type-2 diabetes. As a result of this, they are likely to die younger than people who do not take these medications. Antipsychotics can lead to changes in body weight, affecting blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol. These changes are likely to increase the chances of developing diabetes. The chances of developing diabetes are even higher when the patient also must take statins to avoid heart disease. Statins are also linked to diabetes. At present, there is no current study looking into the chances of developing diabetes in people who take both statins and antipsychotic medication. That is the main gap we want to fill with our research. It is also important for doctors and patients to know if higher medication doses and more years of taking medication increase the chances of developing diabetes.

We aim to understand the relationship between taking both medications at the same time and the chances of developing diabetes. We also want to verify if this relationship is different between men and women, younger and older people, people with financial problems and rich people, and people of different ethnicity.

We will determine this relationship based on the evidence collected from over 200,000 patients in primary care. We will explore changes in prescribing antipsychotic and statin patterns over time (e.g., long-term prescribing of these medications, stopping these medications, and changes in doses). We will also compare patients’ physical health (i.e., blood sugar) before and after statin treatment in people that take antipsychotic medication. This will help us understand the impact of these medications on their physical health and chances of developing diabetes.

The research team will be made up of people with lived experience, GPs, psychiatrists and psychologists, mental health nurses, mental health pharmacists and commissioners who will help us make sense of the findings. They will also help us to develop recommendations to improve the safe prescribing of these medications by healthcare providers. We will share our findings and recommendations through a webinar, infographics, and a short video, disseminating them among those who would benefit, including healthcare professionals, patients, and their families. "

Amount awarded: £242,472