Psychotropic Medication Use Mediates Obesity in Patients With Mood, Anxiety Disorders: Presented at ADAA
The increased odds of obesity in individuals with mood and anxiety disorders is mediated by medication use, according to a study presented here March 6 at the Anxiety Disorders Association of America 30th Annual Conference (ADAA).
A growing body of clinical data now suggests that an association may exist between obesity, mood, and anxiety disorders, even after demographics and comorbid conditions are controlled for.
Possible explanations for this association may include a common cause for these conditions such as negative early experiences or genetic predisposition, negative interactions brought on by obesity may cause mood or anxiety disorders, or that mood and anxiety disorders cause obesity. Psychotropic medications have also been shown to have an association with significant weight gain.
Jitender Sareen, MD, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Manitoba, Winnipeg, and colleagues analysed a cross-sectional survey using a multistage stratified cluster design to select a representative sample from the Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health and Well-Being (n = 36,984).
Using multivariate logistic regression, they found increased odds of obesity in individuals with mood disorders (P < .05) and anxiety disorders (P < .001) compared with individuals who were neither.
In addition, the use of antidepressant (P < .0001) and antipsychotic medications (P < .001) was significantly related to higher rates of obesity after the use of other psychiatric medications was controlled for.
"Indeed, the obesity rate among persons taking antidepressants over the past 12 months was over 1.5 times the rate observed among persons who did not take this medication; for antipsychotics, this ratio was greater than 2," noted the authors.
"These results are consistent with efficacy trials that have demonstrated that weight-gaining properties of antidepressants and antipsychotics," they concluded.
[Presentation title: Psychotropic Medication Use Mediates the Relationship Between Obesity and Mood and Anxiety Disorders: Findings From a Nationally Representative Sample. Abstract 149]
By Liz Meszaros
