OBJECTIVE: Pieces of evidence appear associating the use of atypical antipsychotics to dyslipidemias, situation that is of little attention by considerable number of psychiatrists and important predictor of cardiovascular illnesses and morbi-mortality. The intention of this study is to review the association between the atypical antipsychotic use and the development of dyslipidemias in patients with schizophrenia. METHODS: The bibliographical research used databases MEDLINE and SciELO, for the key words: schizophrenia, dyslipidemia, hyperlipidemia and lipids, with the objective to identify original articles published in the period of 1997 to September 2006. RESULTS: The articles were distributed according to each therapeutic agent and their impact on lipidic profile. CONCLUSION: Higher risk of development of dyslipidemias in schizophrenic patients in use of some atypical antipsychotics is observed. Behavioral and pharmacological interventions must be associated in the treatment of subjects with schizophrenia in antipsychotic therapy who develop dyslipidemias.
schizophrenia; dyslipidemia; hyperlipidemia; lipids
