...And some lose weight
In a 2005 prospective case series of 17 nursing home residents (mean age 92 years [standard deviation, 6], 88% women), MA (400 mg/d for 63 days) was associated with weight loss (mean=-2.13±9.32 lb).6 Nine patients (53%) lost weight (mean=9.3±5.4 lb), and 8 patients (47%) gained weight (mean=5.9±4.9 lb).
A retrospective chart review in 2000 of 14 nursing home residents (mean age 84 years, range 74 to 97 years; 85% women) who received MA 40 to 800 mg/d for one to 15 weeks showed that 43% gained weight (mean=3.1 kg), 43% lost weight (mean=2.0 kg), and 14% had no weight change.7
A 2002 retrospective chart review of 50 nursing home residents (mean age 79 years, range 31 to 93 years; 74% women) who were treated with MA 200 to 2400 mg/d for at least 6 months found a mean weight loss of 1.1 to 2.2 kg.8 In the 6 months after MA discontinuation, weight gain for available subjects (5 to 16 patients) varied (mean monthly change=-0.17 kg to 3.07 kg). The study had a high attrition rate (26 patients were lost 6 months after MA initiation; 39 were lost 6 months after MA discontinuation).
RECOMMENDATIONS
The 2015 American Geriatrics Society Beers Criteria for potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults strongly advises against the use of MA because of limited increases in weight and increased risk of thrombotic events.9