Dosing of antidepressants in relation to body weight in children and adolescents with overweight

Overweight and obesity in children and adolescents may impact pharmacokinetics and drug exposure. The aim of the present study was to evaluate doses of antidepressants in relation to body weight in children. We used data from the BMI Epidemiology Study (BEST) Gothenburg cohort and the National Prescribed Drug Register and included children and adolescents with a prescription of fluoxetine (n = 347) or sertraline (n = 733) and a weight measurement. For fluoxetine, individuals with overweight or obesity received slightly lower doses at first prescriptions, but not in iterated prescriptions. The weight-normalized dose was lower in individuals with overweight or obesity in first and iterated prescriptions, compared with normal weight (p