The impact of binge eating behavior on lithium- and quetiapine-associated changes in body weight, body mass index, and waist circumference during 6 months of treatment: Findings from the bipolar CHOICE study.

•We conducted an analysis of data from 482 adults with bipolar disorders who participated in the Comparative Effectiveness of a Second Generation Antipsychotic Mood Stabilizer and a Classic Mood Stabilizer for Bipolar Disorder (Bipolar CHOICE) study to: (a) compare 6 month changes in body weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference during treatment with lithium- and quetiapine-based pharmacotherapy; and (b) assess the potential moderating effects of baseline binge-eating on 6-month change in these anthropometric measures.•Body weight and BMI increased significantly over 6 months with both lithium and quetiapine, while significant increases in wait circumference were observed only with quetiapine.•The relationship between drug treatment and changes in body weight, BMI, and waist circumference (women only) were moderated by baseline binge-eating. The largest increases in body weight and BMI, and waist circumference in women, occurred for quetiapine-treated patients with baseline binge-eating, relative to quetiapine-treated patients without binge eating and lithium-treated patients with or without baseline binge-eating.