Anti-Psychotic Medications Associated With Childhood Weight Gain

Glenn Oaks, NY (AHN) - Taking certain anti-psychotic medications by children is linked to their weight gain and can lead to heart disease in adulthood, according to a new study.

Children diagnosed with psychotic disorders, bipolar disorder and non-psychotic mental disorders are often prescribed second-generation anti-psychotic drugs like aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine and risperidone.

Researchers with the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System in Glenn Oaks, N.Y. tested the drugs for 12 weeks on a group of 272 children with psychiatric disorders between the ages of 4 and 19 who had not yet received treatment with the medications. Fifteen children refused participation and were used as the comparison group.

After taking the drugs for almost 11 weeks, the researchers said in a statement that there was noticeable weight gain in the participants. Specifically, an average of 18.7 pounds with olanzapine, by 13.4 pounds with quetiapine, by 11.7 pounds with risperidone and by 9.7 lbs. with aripiprazole, compared with minimal weight change of 0.4 lbs. in the untreated comparison group.

The study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association.