Attitude towards second‐generation antipsychotics among patients with schizophrenia and their relatives

Abstract

Effective antipsychotic treatment, which improves functioning and minimises side effects could lead to more favourable attitudes towards antipsychotics among patients. Increasing awareness of illness, enhancing treatment satisfaction and involving relatives in treatment could also be of help.

Attitudes toward psychotropic medications among patients with chronic psychiatric disorders and their family caregivers

“…In some of these studies relatives have demonstrated more positive attitudes toward psychotropic medications than patients. [14,25,46] This has been attributed to the fact that family caregivers do not suffer from the ill effects of the illness, are more aware about the illness and do not have to endure adverse effects of medications. This could lead to more positive attitudes toward psychotropic medications among them.…”

“…This could lead to more positive attitudes toward psychotropic medications among them. [25] However, other studies have found that even caregivers had a rather negative attitude toward pharmacological treatment of psychiatric disorders. [13,47,48] In this case it has been proposed that this negative perception of caregivers derives from both public opinion and the media, which often support the view that psychotropic medications involve an element of coercion and cause harm.…”

“…They have thus been mainly used among patients with psychosis or schizophrenia, and only occasionally among patients with depressive or bipolar disorders. [22,23] Finally, in our experience some of the items of these scales such as the DAI are not well understood by Indian patients, [24][25][26] while other common culturally derived beliefs and attitudes are, understandably, not incorporated in these scales.…”

Persistence of racial disparities in prescription of first-generation antipsychotics in the USA

“…The use of clozapine, the first SGA, may be contraindicated based on low white blood cell counts, requiring routine blood monitoring, a problem more common among Black patients . Although SGA are better tolerated, on average, than their FGA counterparts in terms of EPS, the SGA have been associated with weight gain, postural hypotension, sedation, diabetes, and more frequent sexual side effects than FGA . More recently, use of SGA has been associated with increased mortality among dementia patients resulting in a black box FDA warning …”

“…40 Although SGA are better tolerated, on average, than their FGA counterparts in terms of EPS, the SGA have been associated with weight gain, postural hypotension, sedation, diabetes, and more frequent sexual side effects than FGA. [41][42][43][44] More recently, use of SGA has been associated with increased mortality among dementia patients resulting in a black box FDA warning. 45 The selective marketing of FGA by pharmaceutical companies to treat Black men in the 1970s, particularly haloperidol, has been previously documented.…”