Predictors of the course of tardive dyskinesia in patients receiving neuroleptics.

As many patients still require maintenance neuroleptic medication, it is important to determine what factors affect the course of tardive dyskinesia (TD) during ongoing neuroleptic treatment. In this study the data are from a series of annual examinations using the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) in a cohort of outpatients. Average neuroleptic exposure at the commencement of the examinations was 10 yr. The data on AIMS scores at successive visits are analysed using autoregressive modeling. Two hundred thirty-five patients contributed the 678 pairs of examinations. Separate analyses are reported for orofacial, limb-truncal, and total AIMS scores. Different predictor variables emerged as important for orofacial and limb-truncal dyskinesia. Age, sex, being on anticholinergic medication, and two variables describing duration of neuroleptic exposure contributed to the outcome score for total AIMS score after 1 yr.