One-Year Prospective Study of Liver Function Tests in Children and Adolescents on Second-Generation Antipsychotics: Is There a Link with Metabolic Syndrome?

OBJECTIVE

To analyze liver function tests (LFT), weight, metabolic syndrome (MetS) and at risk of meeting MetS criteria (AR-MetS) in children and adolescents on antipsychotics (AP) during a year-long follow-up.

METHODS

Two hundred sixteen patients, AP naïve or quasi-naïve (<30 days on AP), were included. Total bilirubin, the enzymes aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), weight and other parameters of MetS were measured at baseline, and at 3, 6 and 12 months, while patients remained on the same AP.

RESULTS

At baseline, patients (mean age: 14.1 ± 3.1 years; 60.2% male) were on risperidone (N = 143), olanzapine (N = 37), or quetiapine (N = 36), although the sample decreased over time to 67 patients at 12 months (risperidone N = 46, olanzapine N = 10, and quetiapine N = 11). Around 3% of patients had ALT/AST levels that were at least twice the upper limit of normal (ULN) at 3 and 6 months; whereas roughly 19% of patients had ALP levels that were at least twice the ULN in at least one assessment after baseline, but had no clinical symptoms. From baseline to 6 months, significant increases were observed in ALT levels in the whole sample (p = 0.005), whereas ALP increased only in patients on risperidone. Patients showed significant weight gain, and more individuals met criteria for MetS and AR-MetS over time (from baseline: 2.8% and 8.3%, to 1 year: 10.5% and 23.9%, respectively). There was a trend-level group effect in global ALT across time (p = 0.076). Patients with MetS showed higher ALT concentrations (28.9 [18.4-39.4] U/L) than AR-MetS (20.4 [8.5-32.2] U/L), and no-AR-MetS (19.2 [8.4-29.9] U/L).

CONCLUSIONS

Less than 3% of children and adolescents on AP during 1-year follow-up showed an increase in ALT or AST levels in one or more of the assessments, and none of these increases was of clinical significance. Patients with MetS and AR-MetS increased during this period, and the possible role of ALT levels to monitor these patients deserves further study.