Antidepressants cause obesity, although some more than others

A study comparing weight gain associated with eight different types of antidepressants shows which are associated with more and less weight gain. secondary effect common to all of them.

The study compares the effects of several antidepressants which are used to treat depression, generalized anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder or panic attacks, social phobia or panic, and other disorders.

Research shows that SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) drugs escitalopram, paroxetine and duloxetine are associated with greater weight gain than use sertralineaccording to an analysis that compared data from more than 183,000 adults who were taking one of eight types of antidepressants. Among them bupropion the one associated with the least weight gain, concludes a study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

The question of whether a drug causes weight gain is a crucial one, as weight gain worsens physical health and quality of life, can lead to treatment refusal, and can also lower people’s self-esteem, which is especially important when it comes to mental health.

“Prescriptions for antidepressants continue to increase year on year, with around 10% of Spaniards taking them. This study tries to differentiate between which antidepressants cause the most weight gain, but it reminds us that they all do.” points out Alberto Ortiz Lobo, MD and Psychiatrist at the Carlos III Day Hospital – University Hospital of La Paz (Madrid).

“The importance of this study, in addition to helping choose the right antidepressant for those who need it, is that we can rethink the harm caused by its prescription and limit it to those people who would really benefit from this treatment,” he continues. Statement from the Spanish Scientific Media Center (SMC).

“Many of the common mental sufferings can be solved with the help of social and psychological interventions, without the need for antidepressantsalthough this is the most frequent and immediate response.”

Finally, this study highlights “the need to properly warn people who are going to take antidepressants about side effects, such as weight gain in this case, and to consider their use through an informed consent document.” usually done with surgery and other treatments.

Amelia Martí del Moral, PhD, Professor of Human Physiology at the University of Navarra, CIBER Physiopathology of Obesity, Carlos III Health Institute and IDISNA, Navarrapoints out that “these results are consistent with previous work by our group published in 2019 in which we conducted a systematic review aimed at assessing the possible associationl treatment with antidepressants and neuroleptics for overweight in cohort studies. Twenty-seven independent cohort studies involving children (2–18 years) and adults (18–103 years) were included.

“Most of the included studies showed 5% weight gain in individuals receiving antidepressant therapy. However, with quetiapineHe haloperidol, trifluoperazine, risperidoneHe aripiprazole, olanzapine And clozapine, body weight increased by 7% from baseline, which is considered a clinically significant result. Interestingly, weight loss was found in subjects taking bupropion“.

Annals of Internal Medicine https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-2742