The metabolic syndrome is associated with an increased cardiovascular comorbidity and mortality. Many epidemiological studies prove an increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome among psychiatric patients compared to the general population.

In this on-going naturalistic observational study carried out in an inpatient treatment setting we as yet surveyed the parameters of the metabolic syndrome in 188 psychiatric patients at admission and at discharge. According to the NCEP definition at least three of the five following criteria have to be fulfilled for diagnosing the metabolic syndrome: visceral adipositas (waist circumference: male > 102 cm; female > 88 cm), diabetes mellitus (fasting glucose > 110 mg/dl), arterial hypertonia (≥130 mmHg systol., ≥ 85 mmHg diastol.), elevated triglycerides (≥ 150 mg/dl), reduced HDL cholesterol (male< 40 mg/dl; female< 50 mg/dl).

At discharge we found significantly more patients with visceral adipositas (p=0.0001) and elevated triglycerides (p=0.014) compared to the time of admission. A significantly higher percentage of female in comparison to male patients were diagnosed a metabolic syndrome. Higher age was associated with a higher prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (p=0.001, N=186).

Our results demonstrate a deterioration of parameters of the metabolic syndrome in the course of an inpatient treatment. As visceral adipositas constitutes an essential risk factor for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, an uncomplicated and easily manageable measurement of visceral body fat percentage would be desirable. In a pilot study we are evaluating the informative value of visceral body fat percentage as measured by a body composition analyzer.