Tricyclic and SSRI Usage Influences the Association Between BMI and Health Risk Factors

The prevalence of antidepressant use is increasing. Past studies have reported that the use of antidepressants can influence cardiovascular risk factors including obesity, blood lipids and blood pressure (BP). However, because antidepressants have the potential to influence both body weight and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, it is currently unclear if antidepressant use alters CVD risk independent of obesity. Therefore, the aim of this manuscript was to examine if the type of antidepressant (Selective-Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) or Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs)) used influenced the association between obesity and CVD risk. This study demonstrated that for a given body mass index (BMI) certain antidepressant use was associated with exacerbated health risk factors and CVD risk. Clinically, this may indicate that the differences in body weight observed with the use of SSRIs and TCAs may not be associated with the normally expected differences in cardiovascular risk.