"People taking certain types of antidepressants can gain up to 2kg (4.5lbs) in weight within the first two months of treatment, while patients taking other drugs can lose the equivalent or more, according to a major review of potential side-effects. The research, led by academics at King's College London and the University of Oxford, found that while some antidepressants can cause notable changes in body weight, heart rate and blood pressure, others do not cause such physical changes."
"For example, there was a difference of up to 4kg in average weight change between some drugs: equivalent to about 2.5kg of weight loss on agomelatine compared with about 2kg of weight gain with maprotiline. Weight gain occurred in nearly half of people prescribed drugs such as maprotiline or amitriptyline, whereas over half of those taking agomelatine experienced weight loss."
Certain antidepressants can produce significant short-term changes in body weight, heart rate and blood pressure, with some drugs causing weight gain and others causing weight loss within weeks. Analysis of data from 151 clinical trials involving more than 58,000 people compared 30 different antidepressants and revealed notable variation in physical side-effects despite most studies lasting only eight weeks. Differences included up to 4kg in average weight change between drugs, a 21-beat-per-minute heart-rate difference between fluvoxamine and nortriptyline, and an 11 mmHg blood-pressure difference between nortriptyline and doxepin. Antidepressant treatment guidelines should be updated to reflect these differential effects.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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