Aripiprazole and weight gain: a meta-analysis

This quantitative systematic review has focussed on eight studies for a meta-analysis that has provided significant and positive evidence for the atypical antipsychotic, aripiprazole, on weight loss. Aripiprazole has been compared to other antipsychotics such as olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone and haloperidol on weight loss (N=2, 507). Although it has been argued that there is weight loss due to aripiprazole (Beebe, 2003) discussion of this treatment for mental illness has to be understood with respect to the psychological as well as the physical and adverse effects of taking antipsychotic medication. The significant factor that has emerged for a longer lasting solution for maintaining weight loss in the treatment of mental illness and psychoses is the integrative approach which has a psychological design (Citrome and Yeomans, 2005). This is most supportive for the sufferer, where clinicians respond to their issue armed with the knowledge from research and evidence-based practices for a long-term treatment of weight management (Lean, 2003). The meta-analyses results was highly significant at -6.700 at p less than or equal to 0.0001 that indicated that the hypothesis was supported with weight loss for aripiprazole compared to other antipsychotics in this review.