We were able to rank most of the psychotropics based on the available evidence and recommendations from subject matter experts .
There were few discrepancies between published evidence and the expert panel in ranking these drugs .
Conclusion Potential for weight gain is an important consideration in choice of any psychotropic .
This tool will help clinicians select psychotropics on a case-by-case basis in order to minimize the impact of weight gain when making both intra-class and interclass choices
Introduction Psychotropic medication use is associated with  weight gain .
While there are studies and review s comparing weight gain for psychotropics within some classes , clinicians frequently use drugs from different classes to treat psychiatric disorders .
Objective To undertake a systematic review of all classes of psychotropics to provide an all encompassing evidence -based tool that would allow clinicians to determine the risks of weight gain in making both intra-class and interclass choices of psychotropics .
Impact of lamotrigine and lithium on weight in obese and nonobese patients with bipolar I disorder.
OBJECTIVE This study assessed weight changes in a large cohort of patients with bipolar disorder who were treated with r and omly assigned maintenance monotherapies . METHOD A post hoc analysis was conducted to assess the effects of lamotrigine , lithium , and placebo administration on body weight in obese and nonobese patients with bipolar disorder from two double-blind , placebo-controlled , 18-month studies . RESULTS Mean changes in weight among obese patients ( N=155 ) at week 52 were -4.2 , + 6.1 , and -0.6 kg with lamotrigine , lithium , and placebo , respectively ( lamotrigine versus lithium and lithium versus placebo ) . Among nonobese patients ( N=399 ) , mean changes in weight ( kg ) at week 52 were -0.5 , + 1.1 , and + 0.7 with lamotrigine , lithium , and placebo , respectively , with no significant differences among groups . CONCLUSIONS Obese patients with bipolar I disorder lost weight while taking lamotrigine and gained weight while taking lithium
We were able to rank most of the psychotropics based on the available evidence and recommendations from subject matter experts .
There were few discrepancies between published evidence and the expert panel in ranking these drugs .
Conclusion Potential for weight gain is an important consideration in choice of any psychotropic .
This tool will help clinicians select psychotropics on a case-by-case basis in order to minimize the impact of weight gain when making both intra-class and interclass choices
Introduction Psychotropic medication use is associated with  weight gain .
While there are studies and review s comparing weight gain for psychotropics within some classes , clinicians frequently use drugs from different classes to treat psychiatric disorders .
Objective To undertake a systematic review of all classes of psychotropics to provide an all encompassing evidence -based tool that would allow clinicians to determine the risks of weight gain in making both intra-class and interclass choices of psychotropics .