• Ian J Douglas, Krishnan Bhaskaran, Rachel L Batterham, and Liam Smeeth.
• Epidemiology Population Health, London School of Hygiene Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
• Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2015 Jun 1; 79 (6): 1020-7.

AimsDrug treatments for obesity have proven efficacy from randomized trials, but their effectiveness in routine clinical practice is unknown. We assessed the effects on weight and body mass index (BMI) of orlistat and sibutramine when delivered in routine primary care.MethodsWe used United Kingdom data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink to estimate the effects of orlistat or sibutramine on weight and BMI over 3 years following treatment initiation. For comparison, we matched each patient with up to five obese patients receiving neither drug. Mixed effects linear regression with splines was used to model change in weight and BMI. Mean change with 95% confidence intervals (CI) was estimated.ResultsWe identified 100 701 patients receiving orlistat, 15 355 receiving sibutramine and 508 140 non-intervention patients, with body mass index of 37.2, 36.6 and 33.2 kg m(-2) , respectively. Patients receiving orlistat lost, on average, 0.94 kg month(-1) (0.93 to 0.95) over the first 4 months. Weight gain then occurred, although weight remained slightly below baseline at 3 years. Patients receiving sibutramine lost, 1.28 kg month(-1) (1.26 to 1.30) over the first 4 months, but by 3 years had exceeded baseline weight. Non-intervention patients had slight increases in weight throughout the 3 year period, with gains ranging between 0.01 and 0.06 kg month(-1) .ConclusionsOrlistat and sibutramine had early effects on weight loss, not sustained over 3 years. As new treatments for obesity are approved, their effectiveness should be measured in routine clinical practice, as effectiveness may be considerably less than seen in randomized trials.© 2015 The Authors. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The British Pharmacological Society.

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