Antidepressants differ widely in how they affect the body, according to new research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, in collaboration with the University of Oxford.
Kings College London
Summary
- A major review of 151 studies (58,000+ people) found significant variation in the physical side effects of 30 antidepressants.
- Some drugs caused noticeable weight change, heart rate, and blood pressure differences within just 8 weeks.
- Weight change ranged from 2 kg loss to 2 kg gain, and heart rate differences reached up to 21 bpm between drugs.
- SSRIs generally had fewer physical side effects than other antidepressant classes.
- The study supports personalised treatment decisions and calls for updates to clinical guidelines to reflect these side-effect differences.
Extracts
Published in The Lancet, the large-scale study found that some antidepressants can cause clinically relevant changes in body weight, heart rate, and blood pressure within just a few weeks, while others appear largely neutral in their physical effects. Researchers are calling for antidepressant treatment guidelines to be updated to reflect these findings.
Researchers in this study analysed the data from 151 different studies, comparing the physical health effects of 30 different antidepressants across more than 58,000 people.
MEA Comment
There are two important practical points in relation to ME/CFS to bear in mind; if antidepressants are going to be prescribed to a person with ME/CFS, especially at a full dose, is that different antidepressants can have differing effects on both weight gain and blood pressure controls.
Dr Charles Shepherd,
Trustee and Hon. Medical Adviser to the ME Association,
Member of the 2018-2021 NICE guideline on ME/CFS committee,
Member of the 2002 Chief Medical Officer's Working Group on ME/CFS
Further media coverage
- Also covered by BBC News – search to view the article online.
