Weight changes in antidepressants: a comparison of amitriptyline and trazodone

Weight data taken from a 6-week randomized double-blind study comparing amitriptyline, trazodone and placebo were analyzed to determine differential weight changes between the two drugs. In 272 depressed outpatients doses were increased over a period of 4 days to reach a maximum level of 200 mg amitriptyline or 400 mg trazodone. After grouping the subjects according to initial weights (ideal, overweight, 20% above, and underweight, 20% below) mean changes were determined for each treatment. The results indicate that amitriptyline, which differed from placebo and trazodone, produced significantly higher weight gains in the ideal and overweight groups. Trazodone on the other hand produced a slight weight loss in the overweight group. Due to a low number of patients in the underweight group, the results were not significantly statistically. The antidepressant effects of both trazodone and amitriptyline were the same and no correlations between Hamilton scores and weight change were found.