Atypical Antipsychotics Medication Side Effects and its Associated Factors among Patients with Schizophrenia at Amanuel Mental Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Schizophrenia is a severe, common mental disorder that affects around 1% of the world population. The use of atypical antipsychotics has substantially increased in recent years. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of atypical antipsychotic medication side effects and its associated factors. Cross-sectional study was conducted from 3 October 2022 to 31 August 2023. An ordinal logistic regression model was used and the analysis was done using SPSS version 25. P-value less than 0.05 was deemed statistically significant. A total of 271 patients were included for analysis. The majority of patients reported they experienced absent/ mild side effects, 200 (73.8%). The most common side effects reported were extrapyramidal side effects (136, 50.2%) and sedation and central nervous system side effects (125, 46.1%). Individuals who underwent a medication switch (adjusted odds ratio, 2.6; CI: 1.357, 5.074; p = 0.004) and substance use were experiencing higher levels of severe side effects (adjusted odds ratio, 1.9; CI: 1.027, 3.538; p = 0.041). Additionally, the odds of experiencing higher side effects among patients with comorbidity was 4.1 times higher than without comorbidity (adjusted odds ratio, 4.1; CI: 1.261, 13.496; p = 0.019). Similarly, age (adjusted odds ratio, 0.96, CI: 0.923, 0.992; p = 0.018) and total score of positive and negative syndrome scale (adjusted odds ratio, 1.01, CI: 1.003, 1.020; p = 0.011) were predictors of side effects. Overall, antipsychotic medication side effects were prevalent. The most common were extrapyramidal side effects, anticholinergic side effects, sedations, and central nervous system side effects. Clinicians should discuss treatment options and associated side effects with patients before initiating therapy and explore strategies to reduce and manage side effects.