Over the last few decades, there has been a drastic change in life style and behavior, leading to dramatic increase in the metabolic syndrome in general as well as people with mental illness. Metabolic syndrome adds to the burden of disease and affects the treatment course, outcome and rehabilitation. However, no study has been conducted in drug naïve patients in bipolar patients from this part of world. Objective : To study the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in newly diagnosed drug naïve

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... lar affective disorder patients. Material and methods: Hundred newly diagnosed patients of Bipolar Affective Disorder Type I who were as yet drug naïve were taken up for study. The diagnosis was confirmed by a consultant psychiatrist according to the criterion given in diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders 4th text revision (DSM IV TR) . The NCEP ATP-III (National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) criteria for MS diagnosis was used, Results: The mean age was 27.8 years. Total males and females came to 62% and 38% respectively. Out of the 14 patients with metabolic syndrome 8 were males i.e., 12.9 % had and 6 were females i.e., 15.8 %. Conclusion : The high prevalence of metabolic abnormalities as well as the hazards posed by their occurrence invites the need for clinicians to carefully screen all bipolar patients for risk factors related to metabolic abnormalities as well as careful clinical scrutiny for incident disturbances in any metabolic parameter.