Effect of orlistat-induced weight loss on blood pressure and heart rate in obese patients with hypertension.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of long-term weight management with orlistat on blood pressure in obese hypertensive patients.


METHODS
A meta-analysis of data from five multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled studies, conducted in Europe and the USA, was performed.


METHODS
Obese adults [body mass index (BMI) 28-43 kg/m(2) ] with uncontrolled diastolic hypertension or isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) were eligible for inclusion.


METHODS
Following a 4-week placebo lead-in period, patients were randomized to orlistat 120 mg or placebo three times daily, in conjunction with a mildly reduced calorie diet for 1 year.


METHODS
Change in body weight was the primary efficacy parameter. Blood pressure, heart rate and systolic workload were assessed as secondary efficacy parameters.


RESULTS
A total of 628 patients were included in the intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis. After 56 weeks, orlistat-treated patients had lost significantly more body weight than placebo recipients (8.0 versus 4.0%; P<0.001). Among patients with ISH, mean systolic pressure was reduced to a significantly greater degree after 1 year with orlistat compared to placebo (-9.4 versus -4.6 mmHg; P= 0.022). Similarly, reductions in mean diastolic pressure in patients with diastolic hypertension were greater with orlistat than with placebo (-7.7 versus -5.6 mmHg; P= 0.017). Weight loss of >or= 10% was associated with significant reductions in blood pressure, heart rate and systolic workload.


CONCLUSIONS
Orlistat promotes clinically meaningful weight loss that is associated with significant reductions in blood pressure and heart rate, and may therefore have a role in the management of hypertension in overweight and obese patients.
Franz-Volhard Klinik - Charité, Berlin, Germany and Teaching Diabetic Division, University Hospital Geneva, Switzerland. sharma@fvk-berlin.de
Arya M
AM
Sharma
Alain
A
Golay
D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007783:Lactones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D000077403:Orlistat; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D015431:Weight Loss
D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents; D007783:Lactones; D000077403:Orlistat