Antipsychotic Medications can Reduce Violent Behavior in Mentally Ill Patients: Study

Antipsychotic medicines reduce violent tendencies in mentally ill patients, according to a study.

Drugs like Clozapine and Risperidone are prescribed to control emotional fluctuations in individuals suffering from mental disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar and other related conditions. So far the patients who have used these drugs have not experienced relapse or re-hospitalization but past studies have not documented their effect in curbing violent behavior. A research team from the U.K. and Sweden used data from the Swedish National Registries involving more than 80,000 patients to note the drugs' effects and violent criminal activities.  The experts also included criminal convictions and psychiatric records of the participants between 2006 and 2009.

Their analysis revealed 6.5 percent of men and 1.4 percent of women were involved in violent criminal activities. It was found that the use of antipsychotic drugs and mood stabilizers reduced violent crime rates by 45 and 24 percent, respectively.

"Patients with psychiatric disorders are at risk of perpetrating violent acts, as well as being victims. Until now, we have not known whether antipsychotics and mood stabilizers reduce risks of violence," said Seena Fazel, study author and researcher from the Oxford University in U.K. in a press release. "By comparing the same people when they are on medication compared to when they are not, our study provides evidence of potentially substantial reductions in risk of violence, and suggests that violence is to a large extent preventable in patients with psychiatric disorders."

However, the study did not identify the combined effects of both the drugs in controlling violent activities. But it was observed male patients with bipolar disorder benefited by using mood stabilizers. Although these medications are specifically made for the treatment of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, it was prescribed to participants who reported suffering from depression, alcohol addiction and substance abuse.

The authors believe these findings will help understand aggressive behaviors in patients of mental diseases and develop new treatments and methods to bring down violence and crime rates.

More information is available online in the journal The Lancet.