Antidepressant use linked to poor muscle health, cardiometabolic risks

Monitoring the body weight of the BMI of patients taking antidepressants does not seem to fully capture the adverse changes in body composition, a study has found. Such changes may result in a worsened cardiometabolic risk profile.

A team of investigators used quantitative adipose and muscle tissue measures derived from magnetic resonance imaging data from the UK Biobank (n=40,174). They then compared the fat distribution and muscle composition of users of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) and tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) with sex-, age-, and BMI-matched control participants.

Finally, Cox regression models were used to assess the risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) among participants.

SSRI users showed greater visceral fat, smaller muscle volume, and higher muscle fat infiltration than matched control individuals.

Notably, female antidepressant users had a larger increase in BMI over time than their male counterparts. However, male antidepressant users demonstrated an unhealthier body composition profile. In addition, male SSRI users had a higher risk of developing CVD.

In addition, both male and female users of TCA had lower muscle volume and an increased risk for developing T2D.