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A systematic review of metformin to limit weight‐gain with atypical antipsychotics
Author(s) -
Lee Y. J.,
Jeong J. H.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of clinical pharmacy and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.622
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1365-2710
pISSN - 0269-4727
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2710.2011.01255.x
Subject(s) - metformin , medicine , placebo , randomized controlled trial , antipsychotic , atypical antipsychotic , weight gain , psychiatry , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , body weight , alternative medicine , pathology , insulin
Summary What is known and Objective: Weight‐gain is commonly reported in patients taking atypical antipsychotic agents. A systematic review was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of metformin for attenuation of weight‐gain induced by atypical antipsychotic agents. Methods: A PubMed database (1966‐May 2010) search was conducted, using metformin, atypical antipsychotic and weight‐gain as search terms. Review articles, letters and commentaries were excluded. Results and Discussion: Thirteen trials were identified (eight randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trials, one crossover adult trial, one open‐label uncontrolled adult trial, two open‐label uncontrolled paediatric trials and one case report). Of the eight randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trials, three studied adult subjects and one studied children. Metformin was well tolerated. The heterogeneity of the trials did not justify meta‐analytic pooling of outcomes, and we provide a best evidence synthesis. What is new and Conclusion: There is limited evidence for the efficacy of metformin in limiting weight‐gain induced by atypical antipsychotic agents. However, the evidence is weak and further well‐powered randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled studies of longer duration should be conducted to confirm the preliminary evidence and provide better estimates of effect.