服用抗抑鬱藥或讓你增重
It's hard to ignore the fact that antidepressant use and obesity in the UK are rising alongside each other. Weight gain is an effect many Patients are unhappy about. Sadly, we don't know much about a link between antidepressants and putting on weight.
我們難以忽略這樣一個事實：英國抗抑鬱藥的使用與肥胖問題是彼此相伴而增的。抑鬱症患者對於增重這一副作用十分不滿。不幸的是，我們對抗抑鬱藥與增重之間的關係知之甚少。Doctors need more information to guide patients who gain weight as it can lead them to stop taking their medication and therefore risk a relapse. Weight gain itself may sometimes be a symptom of psychiatric illness. Mentally unwell patients have a higher risk of weight gain through inactivity, lack of energy and loss of motivation.
醫生需要更多的信息來指導增重患者，因爲增重會導致他們停止服用藥物，從而導致抑鬱症復發。有時候，增重本身就可能是精神疾病的症狀。精神疾病患者不運動、精力不足、缺少動力，因而更有可能增重。We do know that taking anti-psychotic drugs can result in putting on weight, but the association between antidepressants and weight gain is not cut and dried. Patients prescribed antidepressants are therefore vulnerable to obesity simply by virtue of being depressed, taking the antidepressant and being part of the UK population where obesity rates are constantly rising. In an attempt to clarify these muddy waters, Rafael Gafoor, researcher at Kings College, London, joined a study team investigating this link.
我們知道，服用抗精神病藥物會導致體重增加，但抗抑鬱藥與增重之間的關係尚未明晰。由於抑鬱、服用抗抑鬱藥、英國人肥胖率不斷上升，因此服用抗抑鬱藥的患者很容易患肥胖症。爲了弄清楚這些問題，倫敦國王學院的研究員Rafael Gafoor加入了一個研究小組，調查抗抑鬱藥與增重之間的關係。
Reporting in the British Medical Journal, the results of their research show that antidepressants really are associated with an increased risk of weight gain. Surprisingly, the peak in weight gain came not at the beginning but about two to three years after antidepressants were prescribed.
《英國醫學雜誌》報道，他們的研究結果表明：抗抑鬱藥確實與增重風險增加有關。令人驚奇的是，剛服用抗抑鬱藥的時候，體重增加的風險並未達到峯值，但服用兩三年後，該風險達到峯值。This risk is elevated for up to six years when the focus on weight gain prevention is no longer top of the list of priorities for patients. There is some evidence that particular antidepressants are more likely to be associated with weight gain than others and alternatives should be sought.
當預防增重不再是患者優先考慮的問題時，該風險達到峯值的時間可能會延長至6年。有些證據表明，相比其它抗抑鬱藥，某些抗抑鬱藥更有可能與增重風險相關，應尋求其替代品。
This research is important for patients as well as doctors because they can take an active role in managing the possibility of weight gain when prescribed an antidepressant. Patients and doctors can work as a team to come up with a weight-management plan.
對於患者和醫生而言，該研究意義重大，因爲他們或將在服用抗抑鬱藥且控制體重增加的可能性方面，扮演積極作用。患者可與醫生共同努力，制定體重管理計劃。If, for instance, there's a risk of a 5% weight gain (3.5 kg, about half a stone for a 70kg person), this will sometimes be enough to move patients from overweight to obese, or from obese to severely obese, with the attendant risk of heart disease and diabetes.
例如，如果體重可能會增加5%（3.5公斤，70公斤的人大約會增重半石），有時足以使患者從超重變成肥胖，或從肥胖到嚴重肥胖，且伴隨心臟病和糖尿病的風險。
