Analysis of smoking behavior on the pharmacokinetics of antidepressants and antipsychotics: evidence for the role of alternative pathways apart from CYP1A2

Int Clin Psychopharmacol. 2019 Mar;34(2):93-100. doi: 10.1097/YIC.0000000000000250.

Abstract

Smoking is common among psychiatric patients and has been shown to accelerate the metabolism of different drugs. We aimed to determine the effect of smoking on the serum concentrations of psychopharmacological drugs in a naturalistic clinical setting. Dose-corrected, steady-state serum concentrations of individual patients were analyzed retrospectively by linear regression including age, sex, and smoking for amitriptyline (n=503), doxepin (n=198), mirtazapine (n=572), venlafaxine (n=534), clozapine (n=106), quetiapine (n=182), and risperidone (n=136). Serum levels of amitriptyline (P=0.038), clozapine (P=0.02), and mirtazapine (P=0.002) were significantly lower in smokers compared with nonsmokers after correction for age and sex. In addition, the ratios of nortriptyline/amitriptyline (P=0.001) and nordoxepin/doxepin (P=0.014) were significantly higher in smokers compared with nonsmokers. Smoking may not only induce CYP1A2, but may possibly also affect CYP2C19. Furthermore, CYP3A4, UGT1A3, and UGT1A4 might be induced by tobacco smoke. Hence, a different dosing strategy is required among smoking and nonsmoking patients. Nevertheless, the clinical relevance of the results remained unclear.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Amitriptyline / blood
  • Antidepressive Agents / blood*
  • Antipsychotic Agents / blood*
  • Clozapine / analogs & derivatives
  • Clozapine / blood
  • Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A2
  • Cytochrome P-450 CYP2C19
  • Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A
  • Desvenlafaxine Succinate / blood
  • Doxepin / analogs & derivatives
  • Doxepin / blood
  • Drug Monitoring
  • Female
  • Glucuronosyltransferase
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Mirtazapine / blood
  • Nortriptyline / blood
  • Paliperidone Palmitate / blood
  • Quetiapine Fumarate / blood
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risperidone / blood
  • Smoking / blood*
  • Smoking / metabolism*
  • Venlafaxine Hydrochloride / blood

Substances

  • Antidepressive Agents
  • Antipsychotic Agents
  • bilirubin glucuronoside glucuronosyltransferase
  • Doxepin
  • Amitriptyline
  • norclozapine
  • Quetiapine Fumarate
  • Venlafaxine Hydrochloride
  • Mirtazapine
  • Nortriptyline
  • CYP1A2 protein, human
  • Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A2
  • Cytochrome P-450 CYP2C19
  • Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A
  • UDP-glucuronosyltransferase, UGT1A3
  • Glucuronosyltransferase
  • desmethyldoxepin
  • Clozapine
  • Risperidone
  • Paliperidone Palmitate
  • Desvenlafaxine Succinate