Lurasidone has demonstrated low propensity for metabolic disturbance in adult patients with schizophrenia in short-term studies.

To evaluate metabolic syndrome occurrence during long-term lurasidone treatment in patients with schizophrenia.

To compare metabolic syndrome rates with lurasidone versus other antipsychotic agents.

Metabolic syndrome rates (as defined by the US National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III) were evaluated in adult patients with schizophrenia treated with lurasidone in 2 long-term, active-controlled studies (quetiapine XR or risperidone). In the quetiapine XR-controlled study, patients completing a 6-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, fixed-dose trial of lurasidone (74 mg/d or 148 mg/d) or quetiapine XR (600 mg/d) continued on double-blind, flexibly dosed lurasidone (37–148 mg/d) or quetiapine XR (200–800 mg/d) for up to 12 months. In the risperidone-controlled study, patients received double-blind, flexibly dosed lurasidone (37–111 mg/d) or risperidone (2–6 mg/d) for up to 12 months.

Among patients without metabolic syndrome at baseline in the quetiapine XR-controlled study, 2.4% (2/84) of lurasidone-treated patients and 7.4% (2/27) of quetiapine XR-treated patients developed metabolic syndrome at month 12 (P = NS). Of patients without metabolic syndrome at baseline in the risperidone-controlled study, 10.3% (12/117) and 23.2% (16/69) of lurasidone- and risperidone-treated patients, respectively, developed metabolic syndrome at month 12 (P = 0.02).

Long-term treatment with lurasidone was associated with lower rates of metabolic syndrome in patients with schizophrenia compared to treatment with quetiapine XR or risperidone.

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

NCT00789698, NCT00641745.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.