Antipsychotic agents: a survey of the prevalence, severity and burden of side effects.

We prospectively studied 64 male veteran out-patients with psychotic illnesses receiving one of six antipsychotic agents grouped by potency (low, mid, high, atypical) to determine: (1) prevalence of side effects; (2) cumulative side effect burden; and (3) relationship between side effects and patient-perceived burden. Patients were administered a questionnaire which included: (1) demographic information; (2) prevalence of 49 side effects; (3) visual analog scales (VAS) rating the severity of 10 selected side effects; and (4) overall side effect burden scale. Outcome measures included comparison of the prevalence, severity and overall burden of side effects among the potency groups (Part A); and association between side effect prevalence and burden, the correlation between severity and burden of certain side effects and demographic variables for the entire population (Part B). In Part A some unexpected similarities and differences were seen among data collected; few significant differences were found between groups. In Part B, 11 of 49 side effects (22%) were significantly associated with burden; the severity of 9 of 10 side effects (90%) and two demographic variables were significantly correlated with burden. These findings suggest that the prevalence and severity of many side effects of antipsychotic agents may affect a patient's perception of side effect-related burden. The side effect burden ratings suggest that the low-potency agents were the most burdensome, while the atypical group was the least burdensome.