Here’s how much weight you could gain on these antidepressants

Sandee LaMotte, CNN

(CNN) — Antidepressants tin beryllium lifesavers for galore struggling pinch truthful galore intelligence wellness diagnoses — anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, societal phobias and post-traumatic accent disorder. Yet taking these mood-altering substances tin lead to an unpleasant broadside effect for immoderate — weight gain.

While galore group ne'er adhd other weight, doctors opportunity concerns complete further pounds are a cardinal logic group whitethorn beryllium hesitant to commencement taking an antidepressant for their intelligence health. Weight summation is besides a logic why immoderate extremity their medications contempt emotion little depressed aliases anxious while utilizing them.

Now, a caller study sheds ray connected conscionable really overmuch weight summation mightiness hap — connected mean — while taking 8 of nan astir commonly prescribed antidepressants.

One of nan astir wide prescribed antidepressants, sertraline, besides known by marque names Zoloft and Lustral, was associated pinch an mean summation of astir 0.5 pounds (0.2 kilograms) astatine six months. That roseate to 3.2 pounds (1.46 kilograms) astatine 24 months, according to nan study.

Using that arsenic a comparison, researchers recovered group taking escitalopram, known by nan marque names Lexapro and Cipralex, had an mean 15% accrued consequence complete sertraline of gaining astatine slightest 5% of their baseline weight astatine six months. The consequence was 14% for paroxetine, sold nether nan names Paxil, Aropax, Pexeva, Seroxat, Sereupin and Brisdelle, nan study found.

Duloxetine, sold by nan marque names Cymbalta, Loxentia and Yentreve, was associated pinch a 10% accrued consequence of a diligent gaining astatine slightest 5% of their baseline weight compared to sertraline, nan study said.

A weight summation of 5% aliases much complete baseline is considered clinically important for health, said lead study writer Joshua Petimar, an adjunct professor of organization medicine astatine nan Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School successful Boston.

The emblematic big gains an mean of 1 to 2 pounds per year, which complete time, tin lend to obesity. This weight summation tin beryllium driven by beingness inactivity, stress, mediocre slumber and mediocre nutrient choices, specified arsenic eating excessively galore ultraprocessed foods, arsenic good arsenic medications, experts say.

Weight summation by pounds
The study, published Monday successful nan diary Annals of Internal Medicine, utilized physics wellness grounds medicine and assemblage wide to comparison weight summation among much than 183,000 people. Researchers looked astatine weight astatine 6 months, 12 months and 24 months for individuals betwixt nan ages of 18 and 80 who were starting an antidepressant for nan first time.

When analyzing nan information by pounds and kilograms of weight gained, group connected escitalopram and paroxetine added an mean of 1.4 pounds (0.63 kilograms) by six months. By 24 months, weight had risen by 3.6 pounds (1.63 kilograms) for escitalopram and astir 3 pounds (1.33 kilograms) for paroxetine.

Duloxetine was associated pinch an mean summation of 1.2 pounds (0.55 kilograms) astatine six months and 1.7 pounds (0.78 kilograms) astatine 24 months.

“In our study, nan mean weight astatine baseline was 84 kg, aliases astir 185 lb,” Petimar said successful an email. “This intends that successful our study, a 5% summation successful weight translated connected mean to a weight summation of 4.2 kg, aliases astir 9 lb.”

However, nan study recovered nary importantly higher aliases little consequence for citalopram, sold arsenic Celexa; fluoxetine, sold arsenic Prozac; aliases venlafaxine, sold arsenic Effexor, Effexor XR, Vensir, Vencarm, Venlalix and Venlablue, erstwhile compared to sertraline.

“We request to retrieve these are mean values; galore group won’t summation immoderate weight, while others could summation considerably more,” said Dr. Roy Perlis, subordinate main of psychiatric investigation astatine Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of psychiatry astatine Harvard Medical School successful Boston, who conducted a akin study successful 2014. He was not progressive pinch nan caller research.

“Still, having mean values to activity pinch — and seeing that these averages statement up good pinch anterior studies — astatine slightest lets america springiness group a consciousness of what they mightiness expect,” Perlis said successful an email.

Not each patients comprehend weight summation negatively, though it is much communal for patients to want to debar weight summation than to activity it erstwhile taking an antidepressant, Petimar said. For example, mirtazapine is an antidepressant that is sometimes utilized successful nan curen of eating disorders.

“We didn’t analyse mirtazapine successful our study because it’s not considered a communal front-line medicine for caller users of antidepressants,” he said.

Weight nonaccomplishment occurred pinch 1 drug

One antidepressant contributed to a mini magnitude of weight nonaccomplishment astatine six months, nan study found.

“Bupropion (Wellbutrin and Zyban) connected mean had a 15% little consequence of gaining a clinically meaningful magnitude of weight compared to sertraline,” Petimar said.

“Our study didn’t research reasons why bupropion was associated pinch little weight summation than different antidepressants, but different studies person likewise concluded that it is associated pinch little weight summation than different communal antidepressants,” he added.

When analyzed by pounds aliases kilograms lost, group who took bupropion dropped almost 1 4th of a lb (0.01 kilograms) astatine six months, earlier gaining 1.2 pounds (0.56 kilograms) astatine 24 months, according to nan research.

Why do antidepressants lend to weight gain? Science doesn’t yet know, Perlis said.

“Remarkably, we don’t cognize nan precise system by which antidepressants lend to weight changes. Worse, we really don’t cognize overmuch astir who is astir apt to summation aliases suffer weight, truthful we can’t make bully predictions successful advance,” he said.

One caution, Perlis said, is that immoderate group suffer weight erstwhile depressed and suffer their appetite. “Some of what we’re seeing whitethorn beryllium group regaining weight they’d mislaid arsenic their slump aliases worry improves.”

The champion measurement to negociate broadside effects is to expect them, experts say.

“Patients who are concerned astir weight summation should person an unfastened and honorable speech pinch their clinician astir their concerns,” Petimar said.

“There are galore objective factors that find which medicine is correct for a fixed patient,” Petimar said. “These see nan patient’s objective symptoms, their aesculapian history, immoderate different narcotics that they are already taking, and imaginable broadside effects that nan diligent is concerned about.”

Clinicians person to measurement each of these factors erstwhile they determine which is nan champion people of treatment, he added, while patients tin strive to debar weight summation by pursuing patient eating habits and exercising regularly.