Zyprexa Side Effects
Numerous studies have linked the use of Zyprexa and other atypical antipsychotic medications to the onset or worsening of diabetes and other blood sugar abnormalities.
In three studies conducted over an eight-year period by Dr. Elizabeth Koller, Zyprexa use was linked to 289 cases of diabetes, 28 of them fatal. The patients who developed diabetes were often young and male.
Studies have linked Zyprexa and similar drugs to diabetes and other blood sugar abnormalities.
Most of the data in these studies came from FDA reports, and the FDA admits that the reports it receives represent perhaps only 10% of the actual number of adverse reactions.
Dr. Koller and her fellow researchers therefore suggested that the number of diabetes cases and diabetes deaths associated with Zyprexa is much higher in reality.
Researchers say Zyprexa may cause diabetes directly
In a 2002 Zyprexa study in the journal Pharmacotherapy, researchers concluded that “the number of cases, the timing of the illnesses and the relatively young ages of the patients who fell ill ‘suggest a causal relationship’ between Zyprexa and the development or worsening of diabetes.”
A large-scale 2003 study of Zyprexa and two other popular atypical antipsychotic drugs—Risperdal and Seroquel —found that all three were associated with higher rates of diabetes. Compared with older generation antipsychotics, all three new drugs raised the chances of developing diabetes by about 50%.
The highest risks of developing diabetes occurred in patients under age 54 who took Zyprexa or Risperdal.
FDA issues Zyprexa side effects warning
The FDA and Eli Lilly notified health care professionals in 2004 of a revision to the “Warnings” section of Zyprexa drug labels, describing the increased risk of hyperglycemia and diabetes in patients taking Zyprexa.
