Usage of Antidepressants and Weight

ABSTRACT

Depressive disorder is a very common disease, clinical manifestations vary, and the mechanism is not clear. Therefore, a pharmacotherapy is very important to achieve sufficient therapeutic effect, but the choice of drug is not easy due to the occurrence of side effects of treatment and confusion with clinical features. It is easy to overlook the side effects of weight gain with antidepressants compared with antipsychotics, but they are frequently observed in clinical settings. The first-generation antidepressants have higher weight gains than selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors are observed to have less weight gain, and dopamine norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors have weight loss effect due to decreased appetite. Mirtazapine, an atypical antidepressant, has a strong histamine H1 blockade, and gains weight gain from short-term use. The effects of desvenlafaxine, vortioxetine, and agomelatin on weight, which have recently been increasing in use, have not been largely identified. For better compliance, studies on weight gain due to the use of antidepressants are needed.