The findings of a study that explored weight gain in postmenopausal women, conducted as part of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), will be published this fall in Menopause – The Journal of The North American Menopause Society. Robert A. Wild, M.D., MPH, Ph.D., OU Medicine obstetrician-gynecologist, co-authored the paper and performed analysis on its content.
The paper titled “The association between weight-promoting medication use and weight gain in postmenopausal women: findings from the Women’s Health Initiative” is currently scheduled to appear in Volume 27.10, the journal’s October 2020 issue.
“This work merits greater exposure in the scientific community as well as the general population,” Wild said. “Obesity is a serious chronic illness with global impact. There’s little we can do about genetic predisposition or advancing age, but where it’s appropriate and reasonable to avoid the use of medications that aggravate or promote weight gain, we must do so.”
The team of investigators, led by Fatima Cody Stanford, M.D., MPH, MPA, sought to quantify the impact of weight-promoting medications and weight changes in postmenopausal women, over a three-year period. Among 40 WHI-participating sites, 76,252 postmenopausal women aged 50 – 79 were part of the observational study. Weight was measured at baseline and again at three years.
“Women who were overweight or obese at baseline were more likely to be taking antidepressants, beta-blockers and/or insulin, which were found to be associated with weight gain,” explained Wild. “This is practical information that guides clinical decision making and steers efforts to mitigate medication-related weight gain.”
