SynthesisEuropean eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association2026
The Efficacy of Pharmacological Treatment of Depression in Anorexia Nervosa and Underweight Patients: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The Efficacy of Pharmacological Treatment of Depression in Anorexia Nervosa and Underweight Patients: A Systematic Review.European eating disorders review : the journal of the Eating Disorders Association · 2026Pooled it
- Understanding experiences of psychedelic treatments for eating disorders: a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.BMC medicine · 2026Review
- Children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders have high relative leptin levels upon adjustment for sex, BMI, and pubertal status.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Effect of psychopharmacological combinations on psychopathological symptom burden and BMI trajectories in patients with eating disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is a frequent comorbidity in anorexia nervosa (AN). This review aimed to evaluate evidence on the effectiveness of pharmacological treatments for MDD in underweight individuals.
methodA systematic review was conducted using PubMed, Medline, PsycINFO, and Web of Science through March 2025. Nineteen studies with 477 underweight patients were included, involving pharmacological treatment of depressed underweight young adults. Study designs ranged from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to open-label trials and case reports, with quality assessments performed. Most studies focused on patients with AN; a few included underweight individuals without eating disorders.
resultsNo RCTs specifically examined antidepressant treatment for MDD in AN. Most studies prioritised weight restoration and eating disorder symptoms over depressive outcomes. Some case reports indicated potential benefits of medications such as mirtazapine and ketamine. However, evidence was mixed and generally low in quality. Overall, it shows insufficient evidence for the effectiveness of pharmacological treatments in underweight individuals. There is insufficient data to determine whether being underweight affects antidepressant efficacy.
conclusionsEvidence on pharmacological treatment of MDD in underweight individuals, particularly those with AN, is scarce and inconclusive. Well-designed RCTs are needed to assess the efficacy and safety of antidepressants in this population.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.