A quick note on the antidepressant Mirtazapine that is often used in elederly patients who have decreased appetite and weight loss.
TITLE
Antidepressant use in underweight older adults.
JOURNAL
The Consultant pharmacist : the journal of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists
DOI
10.4140/TCP.n.2012.868
Author(s)
Avena-Woods|Carmela|C|;Hilas|Olga|O|
Abstract
Mirtazapine is an antidepressant approved for the treatment of major depressive disorder. It has been reported to also stimulate appetite and/or increase body weight, which may be beneficial in certain patient populations such as the elderly. Results demonstrated that underweight older patients were more likely to receive mirtazapine than any other antidepressant, prompting a systematic literature review to assess its potential role in appetite stimulation and weight gain.
https://www.focalize.md/find-journals/?a=I-5nOXwBEtb5a2zzcJyz
In this study, seroquel (quetiapine), when compared to risperidone and olanzapine was not found to be associated with increased risk for falls.
TITLE
Risk of falls and fractures in older adults using atypical antipsychotic agents: a propensity score-adjusted, retrospective cohort study.
JOURNAL
The American journal of geriatric pharmacotherapy
DOI
10.1016/j.amjopharm.2011.10.006
Author(s)
Chatterjee|Satabdi|S|;Chen|Hua|H|;Johnson|Michael L|ML|;Aparasu|Rajender R|RR|
Abstract
BACKGROUND Atypical antipsychotic agents are extensively prescribed in the elderly to treat various behavioral and psychiatric disorders. Past literature has documented an increased risk of falls and factures with the use of risperidone and olanzapine compared with nonuse. However, none of the studies assessed the comparative safety profiles of atypical agents with respect to falls and fractures. OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to evaluate the risk of falls and fractures associated with the use of risperidone, olanzapine, and quetiapine in community-dwelling adults aged ≥50 years. A total of 417 cases of falls/fractures with at least 1 hospitalization/ emergency department visit after the use of the antipsychotic agents were identified. The number of falls for risperidone, olanzapine, and quetiapine were 179 (3.56%), 123 (2.84%), and 115 (4.34%), respectively. After adjusting for propensity scores, the Cox proportional hazards model showed that there was no statistically significant difference with use of risperidone (hazard ratio = 1.10 [95% CI, 0.86-1.39]) or quetiapine (hazard ratio = 1.12 [95% CI, 0.86-1.46]) compared with olanzapine (reference group) in the risk of falls or fractures.
https://www.focalize.md/find-journals/?a=L-U6OXwBEtb5a2zzxWni
