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Distress with Medication Side Effects among Persons with Severe Mental Illness

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Abstract

We examined prevalence and perceived distress resulting from self-reported side effects (SEs) attributed to psychotropic medications among individuals with severe mental illness participating in a study of consumer-operated services. We examined gender and racial differences using logistic regression, conducted factor analyses of SEs, and examined correlations between distress and self-reported symptoms. Over 90% reported at least one SE, and nearly two-thirds reported a high level of distress with at least one SE. The most distressing SEs reported were embarrassment from weight gain, weight gain, dry mouth, and sedation. The likelihood of distress by particular SEs varied by gender and race.

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Acknowledgements

This publication was made possible by Grant No. SM-52328 from the US Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse, and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services awarded to the MIMH Coordinating Center. The SAMHSA/CMHS Cooperative Agreements to Evaluate Consumer-Operated Services project was funded through seven research sites: Mount Sinai School of Medicine (CMHS Grant No. SM-52372); Advocacy Unlimited; Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services; and the University of Connecticut; Peer Center, Inc. in Florida (CMHS Grant No. SM-52332), subcontracting with Florida Mental Health Institute of the University of South Florida and Florida International University; Henderson Mental Health Center in Fort Lauderdale; Mental Health Client Action Network (MHCAN) and Santa Cruz County Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services; The University of Chicago Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation in Illinois (CMHS Grant No. SM-52363), GROW of Illinois, Janet Wattles Mental Health Center and Provena Behavioral Health; Boston University, Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation (CMHS Grant No. SM-52352) COSP: St. Louis Empowerment Center, St. Louis MO Traditional Providers: Places for People and BJC Behavioral Healthcare, St. Louis, MO; The Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service, University of Southern Maine (CMHS Grant No. SM-52362); the Portland Coalition for the Psychiatrically Labeled in Maine; Catholic Charities Maine Support, Recovery Services, and Shalom House Inc.; Friends Connection of the Mental Health Association in Southeastern Pennsylvania (CMHS Grant No. SM-52355); Philadelphia Office of Mental Health; and the University of Pennsylvania Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research in Pennsylvania; BRIDGES (Tennessee Mental Health Consumers’ Association), Michigan State University Department of Psychology (CMHS Grant No. SM-52367), Vanderbilt University Department of Psychiatry. Coordinating Center: Missouri Institute of Mental Health (CMHS Grant No. SM-52328), Northrup Grumman Health Information Technology, American University, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Mental health Services Research. Federal Representatives: Center for Mental Health Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services. This work was also supported by the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Hartford and the Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center of the Veterans Integrated Service Network 3. The authors also acknowledge support from the psychology department and the A. J. Pappanikou Center at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. This article does not express the views of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services or the State of Connecticut. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Health Services Research, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Nancy H. Covell

  2. Research Division, Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, 410 Capitol Avenue, MS#14RSD, P.O. Box 341431, Hartford, CT, 06134, USA

    Nancy H. Covell

  3. Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical System, Bronx, NY, USA

    Ellen M. Weissman

  4. Office of Consumer Affairs, Piedmont Behavioral Healthcare, Concord, NC, USA

    Bonnie Schell

  5. Center for the Study of Religion and Psychology, The Albert and Jessie Danielsen Institute at Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Brian H. McCorkle

  6. Center for Health and the Social Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    W. Thomas Summerfelt

  7. Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Peter J. Weiden

  8. Departments of Mental Health Services and Policy Research, Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Susan M. Essock

  9. New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA

    Susan M. Essock

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  1. Nancy H. Covell
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  2. Ellen M. Weissman
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  3. Bonnie Schell
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  4. Brian H. McCorkle
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  7. Susan M. Essock
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nancy H. Covell.

Additional information

Preliminary results of this work were presented as a poster at the 44th annual meeting of the New Clinical Drug Evaluation Unit of the National Institute of Mental Health, Phoenix, AZ, 2004.

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Covell, N.H., Weissman, E.M., Schell, B. et al. Distress with Medication Side Effects among Persons with Severe Mental Illness. Adm Policy Ment Health 34, 435–442 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-007-0131-1

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