May 23, 2018

expert reaction to association between antidepressant use and weight gain

Researchers publishing in the BMJ evaluate long-term association between antidepressant prescribing and body weight.

Prof David Baldwin, Chair of the Psychopharmacology Committee, Royal College of Psychiatrists, said:

“Weight gain is a recognised side effect of most antidepressant drugs, and is a particular concern for many patients during long-term antidepressant treatment.

“There are some potential limitations to the study findings. For example, treatment allocation was quite naturally on the basis of normal clinical practice, rather than the result of randomisation.

“However, the findings indicate that some antidepressants are more likely to be associated with weight gain than others, and this accords with widespread patient and clinical experience suggesting that mirtazapine might be particularly troublesome in this regard.

“It is hard to predict which patients are more likely to gain weight, but the relative risks of weight gain with differing antidepressants should be a consideration when discussing potential treatment options. It makes sense for doctors to discuss dietary and other lifestyle factors with all patients, and for weight to be monitored during antidepressant treatment.”

* ‘Antidepressant utilisation and incidence of weight gain during 10 years’ follow-up: population based cohort study’ by Gafoor et al. published in The BMJ on Wednesday 23 May. 

All our previous output on this subject can be seen at this weblink: http://www.sciencemediacentre.org/?s=antidepressants&cat

Declared interests

Prof David Baldwin: Professor Baldwin has received research funding and consultancy and lecture fees from a number of pharmaceutical companies who have developed antidepressant and anxiolytic drugs.