Weight Gain is Not Associated with Antipsychotic Medication, Sociodemographic Factors, or Diagnosis in a Welsh Secure Mental Health Unit

Many people treated in secure inpatient services have a serious mental illness and are obese. This study aimed to assess the predictive power of demographic, clinical and pharmacological factors on secure inpatient weight gain during the initial stages of treatment. Retrospective data pertaining to body weight, sex, diagnosis, and prescribed medication was collected for 209 secure psychiatric inpatients. Lower admission bodyweight and non-antipsychotic medication with a low risk of inducing weight gain were the only significant predictors of weight gain (R² =.050). Clinical implications of these findings are discussed.