The Effects of Fluoxetine and Clomipramine on Blood Sugar, Cholesterol, and Weight of Obsessive-Compulsive Children and Adolescents

Evaluating the effects of fluoxetine and clomipramine on fasting blood sugar, tri-glyceride, cholesterol, weight, and liver function of obsessive-compulsive of Iranian children and adolescents. Method 30 patients (7-17 yrs.) referred by Roozbeh Hospital with the diag-nosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), were selected as the subjects. Clinical inte-rviews based on DSM-IV, Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (YBOS) and Maudseley Obsessive Compulsive Inventory (MOCI) were used for the purpose of diagnosis. The sub-jects were randomly assigned to two groups; each composed of 15 subjects. For a period of 8 weeks, in a double blind clinical trial, one group received fluoxetine and the other group received clomipramine. The first group started with 10 to 20 mg. of fluoxetine; the dosage was ultimately increased to 20-60 mg. per day in the second week. The second group received 25 mg. of clomipramine in the beginning and then in the second week, it was raised up to 75-200 mg. per day. The severity of OCD was measured by YBOS and MOCI at the beginning and end of the study. Triglyceride, Cholesterol, fasting blood sugar, and weight were first measured at the initial phase, and then two, four, and 8 weeks after the initiation of the medi-cation. The results were analyzed by descriptive statistics and t-test. Finding This study showed that fluoxetine decreased fasting blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglyceride signi-ficantly; fluoxetine increased the density of ALP of liver function. On the other hand, clomi-pramine decreased fasting blood sugar, cholesterol, and triglyceride; but had no effect on ALP of liver function. Both fluoxetine and clomipramine caused an increase in the density of SGPT and SGOT of liver function. Whereas after eight weeks of treatment, fluoxetine had little impact on the subjects’ weight, clomipramine significantly increased their weight. Results fluoxetine is preferred in treatment of OCD patients who have over-weight issue and also suffer from cardiovascular or diabetic disorders.