Blood-sugar checks on antipsychotics
If you take an antipsychotic, your blood sugar (an HbA1c test) should be checked before you start and at least once a year.
Across de-identified U.S. psychiatric records, we found this step was missed about 69% of the time it should have happened. At the best-performing clinics it was missed only about 11% of the time, so this is a gap that can be closed. Whether it happens usually comes down to how a clinic is set up, not anything about you.
Among people on antipsychotics whose blood sugar was tracked, those whose sugar had climbed into the diabetes range were about 5 times as likely to develop type 2 diabetes over the next year as those whose sugar stayed normal.
This step also is not missed evenly for everyone. For Native American patients this step is missed 84% of the time, versus 46% for White patients.
This page is here to help you know what to ask about. It is not medical advice, and you should never start, stop, or change a medication on your own. Bring these questions to a doctor who knows you.
Questions to ask your doctor
Copy a line and ask it at your next visit. These are questions to start a conversation, not instructions to change your treatment.
- I take an antipsychotic - when was my last blood-sugar (HbA1c) test?
- Can we check my blood sugar and keep an eye on it over time?
The evidence
Among people on antipsychotics whose blood sugar was tracked, those whose sugar had climbed into the diabetes range were about 5 times as likely to develop type 2 diabetes over the next year as those whose sugar stayed normal.
This page is information, not medical advice. It describes care patterns across many people and can't speak to your own situation. Bring these questions to a clinician who knows you.
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