title: Sex-specific association between antidepressant use and body weight in a population-based study in older adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the association between antidepressant use and body weight in a population-based study in older adults.
  
  
  METHODS
  All participant records (N = 7,269) from the prospective Rotterdam Study with data on anthropometrics and current depressive symptoms were studied post hoc (data were collected between September 1993 and December 2011). The association between antidepressant use, derived from pharmacy records, and change in body mass index (BMI) between repeated examination rounds was analyzed. Current depressive symptoms (assessed by questionnaire) and baseline BMI (for the change in BMI analysis only) were deemed important covariates. Additional analyses were stratified by sex and restricted to long-term use (≥ 90 days) and by level of binding affinity to the serotonin reuptake transporter (denoted as hSERT antidepressants).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants who used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs, n = 198) had a larger increase in BMI compared to nonusers (+0.74 and +0.23 kg/m(2), respectively, P < .001) between repeated examination rounds. No change in BMI was observed for users of tricyclic antidepressants (n = 146) and other antidepressants (n = 57) compared to nonusers. Weight gain was observed only in women who were treated for ≥ 90 days with hSERT antidepressants or SSRIs, and not in men (P value for interaction = .002).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Within our study of older adults, hSERT antidepressants were associated with an increased body weight in women, which is supported by the biological function of serotonin in weight control and the differences in serotonergic signaling between males and females.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Internal Medicine, Epidemiology, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Raymond
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Noordam
authors.forename: Nikkie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aarts
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tiemeier
authors.forename: Albert
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hofman
authors.forename: Bruno H
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Stricker
authors.forename: Loes E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Visser
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects*; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000187:drug effects; D012727:Sex Characteristics
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins