Antipsychotic Treatment Experiences of People with Schizophrenia: Patient Perspectives from an Online Survey.

BACKGROUND

This survey examined the experiences of people living with schizophrenia who have used oral antipsychotics (APs).

METHODS

Adults with self-reported physician-diagnosed schizophrenia (N=200), who were members of an online research participation panel and reported taking one or more oral APs within the last year, completed a cross-sectional online survey that focused on direct report of their experiences regarding APs (eg, symptoms, side effects, adherence). Descriptive analyses were conducted for the total survey sample and for subgroups defined a priori by experience with specific, prevalent side effects.

RESULTS

The mean age of the sample was 41.9 (SD=11.0) years, 50% of participants were female, and 32% were nonwhite. Overall ratings were positive for medication effectiveness and convenience but negative for side effects. While most participants reported that APs improved schizophrenia symptoms (92%), 27% reported APs as having done "more harm than good." Almost all participants (98%) reported experiencing side effects of APs, with the most common being anxiety (88%), feeling drowsy/tired (86%), and trouble concentrating (85%). Side effects frequently cited as either "extremely" or "very" bothersome were weight gain (56%), sexual dysfunction (55%), and trouble concentrating (54%). Over 80% reported that side effects had negatively impacted their work and social functioning (eg, social activities or family/romantic relationships). Since initiating treatment, 56% of respondents had stopped taking APs at some point (65% of these due to side effects). Side effects commonly reported as having led to stopping AP treatment were "feeling like a 'zombie'" (22%), feeling drowsy/tired (21%), and weight gain (20%).

CONCLUSION

Most participants reported improvements in schizophrenia symptoms associated with the use of APs. However, most participants also reported experiencing numerous bothersome side effects that negatively impacted their work, social functioning, and treatment adherence. Results highlight the unmet need for new APs with favorable benefit-risk profiles.

Informations de copyright

© 2020 Doane et al.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

MJD, AKO, and LB are employees of Alkermes, Inc. and own stock in the company. PJW and JCC were employees of Alkermes, Inc. at the time the study was conducted. SM, ASK, and JBB are employees of Optum, Inc., which was paid by Alkermes, Inc. for assistance in designing and conducting this study, performing statistical analysis, and developing this manuscript. MS reports grants from Nuromate, Otsuka, Alkermes, International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), personal fees from Alkermes, Otsuka, Janssen, Neurocrine, Bracket, Health Analytics, Frontline Medical Communications, publication royalties from Springer Press, Johns Hopkins University Press, Oxford Press, UpToDate, personal fees from American Physician’s Institute, MCM Education, CMEology, Potomac Center for Medical Education, Global Medical Education, Creative Educational Concepts, and Psychopharmacology Institute, during the conduct of the study. DIV reports personal fees from Janssen, Otsuka, Alkermes, Lundbeck, during the conduct of the study. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.