By using Ozempic, has increased explosively in recent yearsbut despite what you may have seen on social media, this once-a-week injection is not officially approved For weight loss, only diabetes treatment.
As more doctors prescribe the drug and related weight loss drug Wegoby to suppress appetite, some researchers Concerns grow This means that the side effects may outweigh the long-term benefits for some people.
Now, scientists have identified a possible rare side effect of semaglutide (the drug behind Ozempic and Wigovy) that is serious enough to warrant further investigation.
In addition to nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, this class of drugs also appears to be associated with adverse psychiatric problems.
Semaglutide is technically classified as a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist. This class of drugs mimics natural hormones in the body that improve blood sugar control and suppress appetite.
Between January 2021 and May 2023, the European Medicines Database recorded 481 psychiatric events related to three GLP-1 drugs: semaglutide, liraglutide, and tirzepatide.
Approximately half of these events were reported as depression, followed by anxiety. Approximately 20 percent were associated with suicidal ideation.
All three drugs are approved in Europe for weight loss and diabetes treatment. Semaglutide is the most common and is approved for the treatment of weight loss only at higher doses than Ozempic under the brand name Wegovy.
“Although psychiatric adverse events associated with semaglutide, liraglutide, and tirzepatide accounted for only 1.2% of all reports, 20 patients had fatal or life-threatening outcomes.” write Public health scientist Hajar Elkout and pharmacologist Mansour Tobaiki wrote in the paper.
“Due to the severity of these adverse events, additional studies are needed to investigate causal relationships.”
Without further clinical trials of semaglutide, liraglutide, and tirzepatide, the true risk of adverse psychiatric events remains unknown, Trubaicki and Erkout say.
And they’re not the first to raise red flags.
European Medicines Agency in July 2023 announced After reviewing 150 reports from individuals using Ozempic detailing suicidal ideation, suicidal ideation, and self-harm, they expressed concern about Ozempic’s potential mental health side effects.
Shortly thereafter, british officials also expressed similar concerns.
By contrast, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is also investigating the mental health effects of GRP-1 drugs, but officials say To tell They found no evidence of causation.
Actually recent study The National Institutes of Health found that people taking GLP-1 drugs had a lower risk of suicidal ideation than other anti-obesity drugs.Some American psychiatrists Prescriptions have also begun Although it is a treatment for mental health issues, this remains controversial.
In 2023, Mahavir Agarwal, a psychiatrist from Canada, Said new york times There is “little data” about people with mental health problems taking semaglutide, leaving doctors “remaining blind” without further evidence.
Although the European database on drug side effects is self-reported and cannot reveal causal relationships, Tobaiqy and Elkout suggest that mental health problems associated with GLP-1 drugs may increase with prescription. We found the first evidence that there is.
Approximately 65 percent of adverse event reports recorded in the database come from women, who are often prescribed the drug at a higher rate. However, fatal outcomes from these psychiatric events were more likely to occur among men.
Tobaiki, from the University of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, and Elkout, who works at the University of Tripoli in Libya, said that until further research is done, “these drugs should be used with caution in patients with a medical history or past history, and should be used with caution.” It needs to be monitored.” There is a risk of mental illness. ”
If a patient experiences changes in mood or behavior while taking these drugs, they should immediately consult their health care provider and report them to drug safety authorities.
This study International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy.
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