ArticleBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2018
Antidepressant utilisation and incidence of weight gain during 10 years' follow-up: population based cohort study.
Article in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 91 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
91 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 192 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pharmaco-psychiatry and gut microbiome: a systematic review of effects of psychotropic drugs for bipolar disorder.Microbiology (Reading, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Incident diabetes in adolescents using antidepressant: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of weight management interventions for adults delivered in primary care: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2022Pooled it
- The Effects of Omega-3 Supplementation on Depression in Adults with Cardiometabolic Disease: A Systematic Review of Randomised Control Trials.Nutrients · 2022Pooled it
- Is Fatty Liver Associated With Depression? A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review on the Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Outcomes of Depression and Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.Frontiers in medicine · 2021Pooled it
- The Epigenetic Overlap between Obesity and Mood Disorders: A Systematic Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2020Pooled it
- Digital CBT-I in Comorbid Insomnia and Depression: Clinical Outcomes From a Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial.Depression and anxiety · 2025Trial
- Trial
- Weight Gain During SSRI Therapy: The Potential Role of the Gut Microbiota-A Narrative Review and Mechanistic Hypothesis.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Impact of TCAs and Gabapentin on Saliva and BMI in Adults With Xerostomia.Journal of oral rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Efficacy and Safety of Lumateperone and Other Atypical Antipsychotics Approved as Adjunctive Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder in the United States: A Network Meta-Analysis.Advances in therapy · 2026Article
- A Pragmatic Outpatient Framework for Appetite-Related Phenotyping in Obesity.Obesity science & practice · 2026Article
- From Subjective to Objective: The Bedside Value of HRV in AssessingChronic Pain Complicated by Emotionaland Sleep Issues.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2026Article
- Mendelian-Randomization Study Reveals Causal Relationships Between Blood Metabolites and Psychiatric Disorders.Schizophrenia bulletin · 2026Article
- Clinical and sociodemographic correlates of body mass index in a large multicenter obsessive-compulsive disorder sample.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2026Article
- Shared genetic architecture between obesity and psychiatric disorders reveals comorbid etiology and therapeutic targets.Life medicine · 2026Article
- "Health literacy, health behavior, and demographic determinants of BMI status among pre-older adults: a cross-sectional study".BMC nutrition · 2026Article
- The association of post-stroke changes in body mass index with activity of daily living and instrumental activity of daily living trajectories: A multi-cohort analysis.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2026Article
- Exercise, cognition, and affective disorders.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Review
- Immune and metabolic disturbance as a function of genetic risk and phase of illness in major depression.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2025Article
31 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate the long term association between antidepressant prescribing and body weight.
designPopulation based cohort study.
settingGeneral practices contributing to the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink, 2004-14.
participants136 762 men and 157 957 women with three or more records for body mass index (BMI).
main outcome measuresThe main outcomes were antidepressant prescribing, incidence of ≥5% increase in body weight, and transition to overweight or obesity. Adjusted rate ratios were estimated from a Poisson model adjusting for age, sex, depression recording, comorbidity, coprescribing of antiepileptics or antipsychotics, deprivation, smoking, and advice on diet.
resultsIn the year of study entry, 17 803 (13.0%) men and 35 307 (22.4%) women with a mean age of 51.5 years (SD 16.6 years) were prescribed antidepressants. During 1 836 452 person years of follow-up, the incidence of new episodes of ≥5 weight gain in participants not prescribed antidepressants was 8.1 per 100 person years and in participants prescribed antidepressants was 11.2 per 100 person years (adjusted rate ratio 1.21, 95% confidence interval 1.19 to 1.22, P<0.001). The risk of weight gain remained increased during at least six years of follow-up. In the second year of treatment the number of participants treated with antidepressants for one year for one additional episode of ≥5% weight gain was 27 (95% confidence interval 25 to 29). In people who were initially of normal weight, the adjusted rate ratio for transition to overweight or obesity was 1.29 (1.25 to 1.34); in people who were initially overweight, the adjusted rate ratio for transition to obesity was 1.29 (1.25 to 1.33). Associations may not be causal, and residual confounding might contribute to overestimation of associations.
conclusionWidespread utilisation of antidepressants may be contributing to long term increased risk of weight gain at population level. The potential for weight gain should be considered when antidepressant treatment is indicated.
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