Medscape (3/27, Cotelo, Subscription Publication) reports a study found “the use of antidepressants has been linked to a 2% weight gain in patients who used this treatment at any point during a 6-year follow-up.” According to researchers, “the average weight gain after 6 years was 0.53 kg (1.01% of body weight), and 24.5% of participants gained more than 5% of their body weight.” They said the “data indicate that women, individuals under 55, and those with normal weight at the start of the study were more likely to experience” weight gain with antidepressant use. They concluded, “All individuals taking antidepressants had a higher likelihood of weight gain and developing obesity, with the risk increasing for those with continued use of these medications.” The study was published in Frontiers in Psychiatry.

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— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

Healio (3/26, Hornick ) reports, “Patients with COPD plus a depression/anxiety disorder had poorer scores related to disease burden and health-related quality of life, according to” research. Investigators came to this conclusion after assessing “220 patients with COPD who underwent the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview,” and then comparing “several measures of disease burden captured via questionnaires in patients with vs. without depression/anxiety disorders.” The findings were published in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation.

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— “Patients with COPD plus depression or anxiety experience greater disease burden,” Isabella Hornick, Healio, March 26, 2025

Medical Economics (3/26, Littrell) reports, “A recent study suggests that patients often prefer to wait for an appointment with their own primary care physician (PCP) – particularly for chronic condition management, mental health care and other sensitive issues. It’s when symptoms are acute or urgent that speed becomes the priority.” Researchers found 94.1% of surveyed patients reported seeing a PCP, and 71.4% said it was “extremely important” to have a personal physician. More than “half of patients expressed a strong preference to only see their own physician for follow-ups involving mental health (56.8%), chronic conditions (54.6%) or annual checkups (52.6%).” Researchers stated that “most patients are willing to wait three to four weeks to see their own PCP for certain types of visits.” But only “17.1% of respondents preferred to wait to see their own physician for a new symptom, and only 7.2% said they would wait for their PCP when experiencing an urgent concern.” The study was published in the Annals of Family Medicine.

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— “Patients are willing to wait to see their own doctor,” Austin Littrell, Medical Economics, March 26, 2025

MedPage Today (3/26, Henderson ) reports a new survey suggests that “physicians remain concerned about the state of U.S. healthcare,” but “fewer are considering leaving the profession.” The survey of 750 primary care physicians and 251 specialists “found that the proportion of participants indicating optimism for the future of U.S. healthcare was down to 29% from a high of 48% in 2022.” However, just 28% of respondents “reported weighing – once a week or more – whether to leave the profession, down from 36% a year ago. Another 68% reported looking forward to coming to work, and 53% reported feeling they have a good work/life balance.” In addition, “optimism was rated higher among physicians who viewed artificial intelligence (AI) as helping to reduce administrative burden, according to the survey.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (3/25, Schaffer ) reports data show that “women with polycystic ovary syndrome and a diagnosis of depression are 56% more likely to develop metabolic syndrome compared with women without depression, increasing their risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.” Researchers said that the “findings suggest that all women with PCOS should be screened during a baseline visit for depression and anxiety, as recommended in the two most recent international PCOS guidelines.” They concluded, “We need to make all physicians aware that we need to screen women over time, because mental health is not static. If a woman has depression, then we might want to be more aggressive in managing their cardiometabolic risk.” The data were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

Related Links:

— “PCOS with diagnosed depression may signal greater cardiometabolic risk,” Regina Schaffer, Healio, March 25, 2025