Do Antidepressant Drugs Increase Risk of Obesity?

Previous research has shown an association between people who have had clinical depression and obesity.

But does having a major clinical depressive episode — or the drugs used to treat depression, called antidepressants — increase the risk of becoming obese?

Researchers looked at data from the Canadian National Population Health Survey (NPHS), a longitudinal study over 10 years of a representative sample of household residents in Canada.

The incidence of obesity, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30, was evaluated in respondents who were 18 years or older at the time of a baseline interview in 1994. Major depression was assessed using a brief diagnostic instrument.

The researchers found that the risk of obesity was not increased in association with being diagnosed with a major clinical depressive episode.

The strongest predictor of obesity was a BMI in the overweight (but not obese) range. Effects were also seen for (younger) age, (female) sex, a sedentary activity pattern, low income and exposure to antidepressant medications.

Unexpectedly, the researchers found significant effects for a specific type of newer antidepressant medications — serotonin-reuptake-inhibiting antidepressants (SSRIs) and venlafaxine. The researchers did not find any significant effects for older tricyclic antidepressants nor antipsychotic medications.

Source and More:
http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/06/30/do-antidepressant-drugs-increase-risk-of-obesity/6832.html