Olanzapine-induced weight gain plays a key role in the potential cardiovascular risk: evidence from heart rate variability analysis

Patients with schizophrenia have a higher risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) than the general population. Research has suggested that autonomic imbalance is a common pathway to increased morbidity and mortality for CVD. Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis is a non-invasive method that assesses autonomic imbalance, and low HRV is correlated with high cardiovascular risk. Olanzapine, a widely used antipsychotic drug, is considered to have good cardiac safety because of not causing significant corrected QT-interval (QTc) prolongation; however, it is still unclear whether olanzapine affects HRV. We recruited 83 patients with schizophrenia who were medication-free for at least 1 month and tested their HRV at the baseline and 4 weeks after treatment with olanzapine. We found that patients who had substantial weight gain (EWG) manifested significantly lower HRV than those who had non-substantial weight gain (NWG) and that HRV decrease was positively correlated to an increase in body mass index (BMI) and weight gain. Our results indicate that olanzapine-induced weight gain may play an important role in its potential cardiovascular risk. Since olanzapine has a very high potential for weight gain compared with other antipsychotics, further research is needed to explore its cardiovascular safety profile, specifically long-term cardiac safety.