Am J Psychiatry 1992; 149:68-72
Copyright © 1992 by American Psychiatric Association
Clozapine-induced weight gain: prevalence and clinical relevance
R Leadbetter, M Shutty, D Pavalonis, V Vieweg, P Higgins and M Downs
Clinical Studies Unit, Western State Hospital, Staunton, VA 24401.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and
clinical relevance of weight gain during clozapine treatment. Previous
reports indicated clinically significant weight gain in 13% to 85% of
patients and an average gain of 9.0 to 24.7 lb. METHOD: Twenty-one state
hospital patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia or schizoaffective
disorder were weighed weekly for 12 weeks before clozapine treatment and
during the first 16 weeks of treatment. Psychiatric symptoms were rated
with a modified version of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS).
RESULTS: The mean weight gain for the entire group was 13.9 lb, or 8.9% of
body weight. During the 16 weeks of clozapine treatment, 38% of the
patients experienced marked weight gains and 29% had moderate weight gains.
The improvements in BPRS total score and composite negative symptom score
were significantly greater for the eight patients with marked weight gains
than for the other 13 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Clozapine's propensity to
induce weight gain may relate to the drug's efficacy and/or its unique
neuropharmacologic effects. Increased attention to this phenomenon is
important because of the morbidity associated with obesity.
