Fluoxetine & Weight Loss
Changes in weight during a 1-year trial
of fluoxetine
Fluoxetine & Weight Loss Trial -
Aim
Fluoxetine has been associated with weight loss during acute treatment,
but no controlled studies of weight change during long-term treatment
with fluoxetine or other selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have
been reported. Weights were assessed for patients whose depressive symptoms
had disappeared with acute fluoxetine treatment. Patients were then randomly
assigned to continuation treatment with fluoxetine or placebo.
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Fluoxetine & Weight
Loss Trial - Method
Patients whose illness had remitted after 12 weeks of treatment with
fluoxetine, 20 mg/day, were randomly assigned to receive up to 38
weeks of treatment with fluoxetine or placebo. Weight was assessed
at each visit. Change in weight was analyzed during the initial 12
weeks of acute treatment and after 14, 26, and 38 weeks. Relationships
between weight change and body mass index and between weight change
and appetite change were assessed. |
Fluoxetine & Weight Loss Trial -
Results
During the initial 4 weeks of therapy, a mean absolute weight decrease
of 0.4 kg was observed for all patients. Among patients who completed
50 weeks of therapy, the mean absolute weight increase during continuation
treatment was similar for both the placebo- and fluoxetine-treated groups.
Weight increase was not related to initial body mass index but was related
to both poor appetite at study entry and to improvement in appetite after
recovery. No patients discontinued therapy because of weight gain.
Fluoxetine & Weight Loss Trial -
Conclusions
Acute therapy with fluoxetine is associated with modest weight loss. After
remission of depressive symptoms, weight gain for patients taking fluoxetine
for longer periods is not different from that for patients taking placebo
and is most likely related to recovery from depression.
Source: Michelson D, Amsterdam JD, Quitkin
FM, Reimherr FW, Rosenbaum JF, Zajecka J, Sundell KL, Kim Y, Beasley CM
Jr, Lilly Research Laboratories, Am J Psychiatry 1999 Aug.
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