Our weight fluctuates throughout our lives for a variety of reasons. Weight gain is caused by many factors, not all of which are under our control. Possible causes include changes in diet, reduced physical activity, illness, injury, ageing and mental health issues.
Certain medications also have weight gain as a side effect, and now research has revealed that there are three specific medications that can cause excess weight gain in users.
A new study has been published. Annals of Internal Medicineshowed that people taking certain antidepressants are at higher risk for weight gain. As part of the study, which involved 183,118 people, researchers found that people taking escitalopram (Lexapro, Cipralex), paroxetine (Paxil, Seroxat), and duloxetine (Cymbalta) were most likely to experience weight gain.
A team from Harvard Medical School estimated that people taking escitalopram, paroxetine and duloxetine each had a 10-15% higher risk of gaining more than 5% of their baseline body weight. Escitalopram, paroxetine and duloxetine are all prescribed to treat depression and anxiety and are available on the NHS.
However, escitalopram can also be used to manage obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic attacks, while paroxetine is prescribed for OCD, panic attacks, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The study took place over a two-year period and focused on eight common antidepressants. Participants ranged in age from 20 to 80, with an average age of 48.
The participants had no history of antidepressant use, nor had they recently had cancer, pregnancy, or bariatric surgery. The researchers looked at weight measurements at baseline and six months, one year, and two years after starting antidepressant therapy.
Their primary objective was to compare weight changes after six months of antidepressant use with sertraline, a very commonly prescribed antidepressant. The study found that the most commonly used medications among the participant group were sertraline (Zoloft), citalopram (Celexa), and bupropion.
At 6 months, bupropion was shown to be associated with less weight gain than sertraline, whereas escitalopram, duloxetine, paroxetine, venlafaxine (Effexor), and citalopram were associated with greater weight gain. Fluoxetine (Prozac) was similar to sertraline in this side effect.
In conclusion, the study authors state: “Small differences in mean weight change were observed among the eight first-line antidepressants, with bupropion consistently associated with the least weight gain, but adherence during follow-up was low. Clinicians should consider potential weight gain when initiating antidepressant treatment.”
In the UK alone, 86 million antidepressants An estimated 8.6 million identified patients will be prescribed it in 2022/23.
