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Effects of Orlistat on Fat‐Soluble Vitamins in Obese Adolescents
Author(s) -
McDuffie Jennifer R.,
Calis Karim A.,
Booth Sarah L.,
Uwaifo Gabriel I.,
Yanovski Jack A.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
pharmacotherapy: the journal of human pharmacology and drug therapy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.227
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1875-9114
pISSN - 0277-0008
DOI - 10.1592/phco.22.11.814.33627
Subject(s) - orlistat , multivitamin , medicine , vitamin , fat soluble vitamin , obesity , vitamin d and neurology , endocrinology , vitamin e , percentile , weight loss , chemistry , antioxidant , biochemistry , statistics , mathematics
Study Objectives. To determine whether orlistat causes fat‐soluble vitamin deficiencies in African‐American and Caucasian adolescents. Design. Prospective, open‐label pilot study. Setting. Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health. Patients. Seventeen adolescents with body mass indexes above the 95th percentile for age, race, and gender who also had at least one obesity‐related comorbid condition. Intervention. Subjects received orlistat 120 mg 3 times/day and a daily multivitamin supplement containing vitamin A 5000 IU, vitamin D 400 IU, vitamin E 300 IU, and vitamin K 25 μg. Measurements and Main Results. During 3–6 months of orlistat treatment, acute absorption of retinol (vitamin A) was not significantly altered, but absorption of α‐tocopherol (vitamin E) was significantly reduced compared with baseline levels (p<0.001). Serum levels of vitamins A and E did not change significantly; however, there was a nonsignificant decrease in vitamin K. Mean vitamin D levels were significantly reduced compared with baseline (p<0.02) after 1 month of orlistat, despite multivitamin supplementation. Conclusion. It may be prudent to monitor vitamin D concentrations in adolescents who take orlistat, even when a multivitamin is prescribed.