New Study Shows Ozempic and Wegovy Not Tied to Suicidal Thoughts

This content material initially appeared on On a regular basis Well being. Republished with permission.

A big new research means that Ozempic and Wegovy don’t enhance the danger of suicidal ideas, a possible facet impact that has prompted regulatory investigations in the US and Europe.

Each medicine include the identical energetic ingredient, semaglutide, and are in a household of medicines often known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, which may help management blood sugar ranges and scale back starvation. Regulators within the United States, Europe, and the UK have mentioned they’re investigating circumstances of suicidal ideas (additionally known as suicidal ideation) reported in some individuals who took Ozempic, Wegovy, and different GLP-1 medicine.

Within the new research of greater than 1.8 million U.S. sufferers, nonetheless, folks on Wegovy and Ozempic had a 49 % to 73 % decrease threat of suicidal ideas than people who have been taking different medicines for weight reduction or sort 2 diabetes, in line with outcomes printed January 5 in Nature Medication.

“These findings sign preliminary proof for the security of semaglutide for these with psychological well being situations, who could also be at better threat of experiencing hurt from unintended effects that trigger suicidal ideas,” says the senior research writer, Rong Xu, PhD, the director of the middle for synthetic intelligence in drug discovery at Case Western Reserve College in Cleveland.

Decrease Threat of Suicidal Ideas With Semaglutide

Researchers examined digital well being data over the six months after folks have been prescribed semaglutide or a special medicine for weight reduction or for sort 2 diabetes.

Practically 1.6 million individuals took semaglutide or one other drugs for sort 2 diabetes. For these folks, 0.13 % on semaglutide and 0.36 % given different medicine skilled suicidal ideas for the primary time throughout the interval examined within the research.

When folks had a historical past of suicidal ideas, 10 % on semaglutide and 18 % given totally different medicines had recurrent suicidal ideas throughout the six months.

Amongst greater than 240,000 individuals prescribed medicines for weight reduction, 0.11 % of these on semaglutide had suicidal ideas for the primary time, in contrast with 0.43 % for people taking totally different weight reduction medicine.

When weight reduction sufferers already had a historical past of suicidal ideas, 7 % on semaglutide skilled recurrent issues with this, in contrast with 14 % of individuals prescribed totally different weight reduction medicine.

The research wasn’t designed to show whether or not or how totally different GLP-1 medicine or different medicines may instantly trigger or stop suicidal ideas or behaviors.

Weight and Psychological Well being

It’s not precisely clear why there have been circumstances of suicidal ideas noticed in some folks taking medicine for weight reduction, says Nora Volkow, MD, a coauthor of the brand new research and the director of the Nationwide Institute on Drug Abuse on the Nationwide Institutes of Well being.

“Some speculate that it pertains to a removing of meals as a rewarding stimuli, or to the related adjustments in peripheral hormones linked with weight reduction,” Volkow says. “The decrease degree of threat of suicidal ideation in sufferers handled with semaglutide in comparison with sufferers handled with different anti-diabetes or anti-obesity drugs might replicate the distinct mechanism of pharmacological motion and deserves additional investigation.”

Shauna Levy, MD, the medical director of the Tulane Weight Loss Middle in New Orleans, says the brand new research outcomes mirror what she’s seen along with her personal sufferers.

“These outcomes are according to what I’ve seen from my sufferers, within the sense that they really feel happier after taking GLP-1 agonists,” says Dr. Levy, who wasn’t concerned within the new research. “I’ve not had many sufferers with suicidal ideation in my apply.”

Levy agreed that the precise motive why semaglutide may imply much less threat of suicidal ideas isn’t clear. Not less than initially, weight reduction could be related to improved temper, not less than partly as a result of weight problems is tied to increased charges of melancholy and nervousness.

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However extra analysis is required to pinpoint the exact motive for temper shifts related to GLP-1 medicine basically or with semaglutide particularly.

Within the meantime, Levy says the brand new research outcomes gained’t change how she treats sufferers. “It’s nonetheless extremely vital to observe sufferers fastidiously for any preexisting situations or any adjustments in psychological well being following utilization of GLP-1 agonists,” Levy says. “It can be crucial that sufferers who’re taking GLP-1 agonists are adopted carefully by a medical skilled.”