Implications for practice and research

• ■ Patients with mental illness are vulnerable to weight gain and metabolic risk induced by antipsychotic medication, therefore, proactive monitoring and management are critical in improving outcomes.

• ■ Suboptimal metabolic monitoring even after the introduction of monitoring guidelines suggests the need for matching guidelines with appropriate training and quality assurance programmes.

• ■ There is a need to bridge the research gap through investigating the optimal methods of detecting, preventing and treating metabolic risk in mentally-ill patients; the implementation of effective monitoring methods is crucial.

• ■ An integrated evidence-based approach linking physical and mental health aspects using a shared care …