Beckground: Antidepressants medications remain a mainstay of treatment for MDD. It is found that psychotropes (antipsychotics, antidepressants, and mood stabilizers) are associated with metabolic syndrome. Mostly of them may cause weight gain over the course of clinical treatment. Antidepressants also affect glucose homeostasis. This open label, prospective and observational study was conducted to analyze the impact of imipramine, sertraline and escitaloprame on body weight and blood glucose level in major depressive patients.

Methodology: A total of 810 such patients meeting the inclusion and exclusion criteria were randomly divided into three groups i.e. group I, II & III containing 270 patients in each group and treated with imipramine, sertraline and escitalopram as per scheduled dose respectively. Body weight and blood sugar parameters during enrolment visit as well as follow up at 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and 12 weeks were recorded and analysed by ANOVA and paired ‘t’ test.

Results: After 12 weeks of treatment mean value of body weight was increased in all groups. Maximum mean value of body weight was increased with imipramine. After 12 weeks of treatment; mean value of fasting blood sugar level was increased in all groups whereas mean value of post prandial blood sugar was found increased in group I only while Group II & group III showed significantly reduction in mean value of post prandial blood sugar.

Conclusion: Mean weight was increased maximum with imipramine whereas it was minimum increased with escitalopram. In terms of weight parameter, escitalopram was found safer than imipramine and sertraline. After 12 weeks of treatment, significant increase in mean fasting blood sugar as well as mean post prandial blood sugar was found with imipramine whereas significant decrease in mean fasting blood sugar as well as mean post prandial blood sugar level was observed with sertraline and escitalopram. We suggest, for sake of patients’s safety, monitoring of body weight and blood sugar should be done before initiation of treatment and regularly during treatment with antidepressants especially with imipramine.