It is important for people to know that weight gain is a potential effect of treatment with these drugs, and women in particular are not informed that they have an increased risk of gaining weight compared to a male patient, said lead researcher Amy Toscano-Zukor, DO, a third-year internal medicine resident at Saint Peter's University Hospital, New Brunswick, New Jersey, in his presentation on April 27^th. "It also might help them pinpoint a possible cause for weight gain," Dr. Toscano-Zukor said.

In the study, the researchers randomly reviewed the charts of 100 outpatients in an endocrinology practice who had received or were receiving the thiazolidinediones pioglitazone or rosiglitazone as either monotherapy or as part of a multi-drug regiment for diabetes mellitus therapy.

The researchers analyzed patients' weight as recorded in the charts during office visits to identify any subsequent changes since the initiation or discontinuation of thiazolidinediones. Records were also analyzed for any patient-reported weight changes during treatment prior to the study.

Patients who gained weight and those who did not gain weight were compared according to the following characteristics: gender, body weight, body mass index (BMI), duration of diabetes, most recent hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) level, and concomitant use of insulin, metformin and sulfonylureas.

Significant weight gain was defined as >3% weight increase from baseline, >3% weight loss after the thiazolidinedione was discontinued, or >10% patient-reported weight increase since initiation of thiazolidinedione therapy.

Patients were divided into 2 groups for comparison: Weight-gainers and non-weight-gainers. Among the 100 consecutive patients treated with thiazolidinediones, 52 gained significant weight. There were more women in the group of weight-gainers compared to the group of non-weight-gainers (63.5% vs. 37.5%, P <.05).

There was no significant difference between weight gainers and non-weight gainers in terms of age, body weight, BMI, duration of diabetes, most recent HbA1c and combination therapy with insulin, metformin, or sulfonylureas..

Dr. Toscano-Zukor said that while no one is sure why women are more apt to gain weight when taking thiazolidinediones, one theory is that the proposed fat distribution that occurs with these agents is more pronounced in females because of their preexisting larger ratio of subcutaneous to visceral fat.


[Presentation title: Comparing Characteristics of Weight-Gainers to Non-Weight Gainers With Diabetes Mellitus Treated With Thiazolidinediones. Abstract 246]

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