Risk factors, prevention and treatment of weight gain associated with the use of antidepressants and antipsychotics: a state-of-the-art clinical review

Abstract

Introduction: People with severe mental illness have poor cardiometabolic health. Commonly used antidepressants and antipsychotics frequently lead to weight gain, which may further contribute to adverse cardiovascular outcomes.

Areas covered: We searched MEDLINE up to April 2023 for umbrella reviews, (network-)meta-analyses, trials and cohort studies on risk factors, prevention and treatment strategies of weight gain associated with antidepressants/antipsychotics. We developed 10 clinical recommendations.

Expert opinion: To prevent, manage, and treat antidepressant/antipsychotic-related weight gain, we recommend i) assessing risk factors for obesity before treatment, ii) monitoring metabolic health at baseline and regularly during follow-up, iii) offering lifestyle interventions including regular exercise and healthy diet based on patient preference to optimize motivation, iv) considering first-line psychotherapy for mild-moderate depression and anxiety disorders, v)choosing medications based on medications' and patient's weight gain risk, vi) choosing medications based on acute vs long-term treatment, vii) using effective, tolerated medications, viii) switching to less weight-inducing antipsychotics/antidepressants where possible, ix) using early weight gain as a predictor of further weight gain to inform the timing of intervention/switch options, and x) considering adding metformin or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, or topiramate(second-line due to potential adverse cognitive effects) to antipsychotics, or aripiprazole to clozapine or olanzapine.

Keywords: Obesity; antidepressant; antipsychotic; bipolar disorder; depression; psychiatry; safety; schizophrenia; weight gain.