Sunday, February 20, 2011

Rank order of antipsychotics for producing weight gain

A review in the Archives of General Psychiatry looks at the evidence for weight gain and changes in other cardiovascular risk factors caused by antipsychotic treatment. It has produced a rank order of the different drugs with olanzapine noted to cause more weight gain than all other second-generation antipsychotics except clozapine. Clozapine causes more weight gain than risperidone, risperidone more than amisulpride, and sertindole more than risperidone. The average weight gain after 6 to 8 weeks taking olanzapine was found to be 5 to 6 kg, which was significantly higher than the average weight gained while taking risperidone (4 kg) or haloperidol (3 kg).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

How about a rank order of antipsychotics for brain shrinkage?

Unknown said...

Depakote - a fast 100-lb gain. Happened to me over months, not years.

Milo said...

as someone who has gone through the experience, I will forever wonder if any of the psychiatrists prescibing me those drugs, ever gave a damn. It was always like either take it or I will shove it down your throat attitude. I thought it was very inhumane.