EFN

Weight gain is a recognized potential side effect of some anti-psychotic drugs that are prescribed for many different behavioral problems. According to new research, older children and teens who take these drugs may be more susceptible to weight gain than adults.

The report was published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, which focused  on atypical antipsychotics being linked to weight gain in adults.

“The weight gain is much larger than we thought,” said Christoph Correll, lead author of the study who is a psychiatrist and a scientist at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research in Manhasset, New York.

The four drugs involved in the research, the most popular anti-psychotic medications, are serious industry money earners, with combined sales of $12.7 billion last year. While all four caused weight gain, there were differences in the extent of the side effects. Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ.N) Risperdal or risperidone, Eli Lilly’s (LLY.N) Zyprexa or olanzapine, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (BMY.N) Abilify or aripiprazole and AstraZeneca’s(AZN.L) Seroquel or quetiapine.

Though the evidence from this report needs to be repeated over a longer period, the results still raise disturbing questions about anti-psychotic drugs that often benefit kids who have schizophrenia, autism, tics, severe bipolar disorder or aggressive behavior.

“Finally, in view of poor physical health outcomes and suboptimal metabolic monitoring in the severely mentally ill, the benefits of second-generation antipsychotic medications must be balanced against their cardiometabolic risks through a careful assessment of the indications for their use, consideration of lower-risk alternatives, and proactive adverse effect monitoring and management,” the authors write.