Psychotropic Drugs and Medical Conditions

There is a reciprocal relationship between medical illnesses or treatments and psychiatric disorders or treatments. A considerable proportion of patients with medical illnesses have concurrent psychiatric disturbances. Similarly, psychiatric patients, especially the elderly, frequently experience comorbid medical problems. In addition, some patients undergoing psychopharmacological treatment for their psychiatric disorders suffer from medical problems. For example, it has been well documented that metabolic disturbances such as hyperlipidemia and weight gain are associated with the use of some antipsychotics. On the other hand, medical conditions such as renal failure and liver injury can affect pharmacokinetic features of psychotropic drugs. Therefore, current medical conditions and medical history of patients with psychiatric disorders are important factors that can affect the choice of psychotropic drugs in the treatment of psychiatric disorders.

Recently, there has been growing interest in the use of psychotropic drugs in patients with general medical conditions. Many studies or reviews about the association between the use of psychotropic medications and medical conditions have been published. However, due to methodological differences, the inferences of the study results are complex. Physicians need simplified information for their clinical practice. The chapters of this book aim to summarize the recent literature on the use of psychotropic drugs in medical conditions and psychotropic drug-induced medical conditions. Authors with expertise on perinatal mental health have written each chapter. I hope this book reaches our aims. I would like to apologize for any possible omissions in the book.