Body Mass Index as a Screening Test for Metabolic Syndrome in Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorders

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper was to identify a simple screening measure for detecting metabolic syndrome (MetS) in people with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders. METHOD: A total of 202 patients with chronic schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders on antipsychotic medications were assessed for MetS using the criteria defined by the International Diabetes Federation. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was applied using body mass index (BMI) as the test variable for diagnosis of MetS. RESULTS: The prevalence of MetS was 69.3%. Logistic regression analysis identified BMI and gender as significant predictors of MetS. ROC analysis identified BMI >28.7 as the criterion value with highest accuracy in terms of specificity and sensitivity. The likelihood ratios were robust at this cut-off score. The area under the curve was 0.75. CONCLUSION: BMI is a quick and easy measure, and can be used as a screening test for MetS in any clinical or community setting.