Findings related to effectiveness ( treatment discontinuation , quality of life , and neurocognitive improvements ) were generally consistent with those observed in non-Chinese population s. No new safety signals specific for Chinese population s were raised for olanzapine .
Chinese and non-Chinese population s with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder treated with olanzapine display broadly similar responses .
BACKGROUND Despite the burden of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in the Chinese population , country-specific data to guide practitioners regarding antipsychotic therapy are lacking .
Clinical and social determinants of antipsychotic polypharmacy for Chinese patients with schizophrenia.
Most prescription pattern surveys have found a high rate of  antipsychotic polypharmacy . To date few studies have investigated antipsychotic polypharmacy  in Chinese patients with schizophrenia in general and out patients in particular . This study examined the frequency and sociodemographic and clinical correlates of antipsychotic polypharmacy  in Hong Kong ( HK ) and Beijing ( BJ ) , China . Three hundred and ninety-eight clinical ly stable out patients with schizophrenia were r and omly selected and interviewed in HK and BJ using st and ardized assessment instruments .  Antipsychotic polypharmacy  was found in 17.6 % ( N=70 ) of the whole sample and in 28 % and 7.1 % of the HK and BJ sample s , respectively . Polypharmacy was associated with monthly income , severity of negative symptoms and extrapyramidal side effects ( EPS ) , use of depot antipsychotic and anticholinergic drugs , doses of antipsychotics , and the number of hospitalizations . In multiple logistic regression analysis , younger age , number of hospitalizations , site ( HK vs. BJ ) , and the use of depot antipsychotics were all significantly associated with antipsychotic polypharmacy . Although the ethnic and clinical characteristics of the two cohorts were nearly identical , there was a wide variation in the prescription frequency of antipsychotic polypharmacy between HK and BJ , suggesting that sociocultural and economical factors and traditions of psychiatric practice all played a role in determining antipsychotic polypharmacy . Clinicians should bear in mind that , at least for clinical ly stable patients , no scientifically sound therapeutic principles for antipsychotic polypharmacy exist
Findings related to effectiveness ( treatment discontinuation , quality of life , and neurocognitive improvements ) were generally consistent with those observed in non-Chinese population s. No new safety signals specific for Chinese population s were raised for olanzapine .
Chinese and non-Chinese population s with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder treated with olanzapine display broadly similar responses .
BACKGROUND Despite the burden of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in the Chinese population , country-specific data to guide practitioners regarding antipsychotic therapy are lacking .