January 5, 2024 – People who took semaglutide – the lively ingredient within the weight-loss drug Wegovy and the sort 2 diabetes drug Ozempic – had no increase in suicidal thoughts in comparison with individuals who took other medications for these conditions, in response to a study Published in Natural medicine.
In fact, taking Wegovy and Ozempic resulted in a lower risk of suicidal ideation in comparison with non-semaglutide medications, researchers at Case Western Reserve University found.
Researchers examined electronic health records from 240,258 U.S. patients who were prescribed Wegovy or other weight-loss medications and about 1.6 million individuals who took Ozempic or other medications for type 2 diabetes.
After 6 months, individuals who took Wegovy had a 73% lower risk of first-time suicidal ideation and a 56% lower risk of recurrent suicidal ideation in comparison with users of other weight-loss medications, the study said.
People who took Ozempic had a 64% and 49% lower risk of first-time and recurrent suicidal ideation, respectively, in comparison with people taking other medications.
The study is critical since the FDA said this week that it's investigating reports that individuals taking these medications had suicidal thoughts or two other health problems.
“These results provide evidence that semaglutide, which helps regulate appetite and insulin levels by targeting glucagon-like peptide 1 receptors (GLP1R) in the body, does not appear to increase the risk of suicidal ideation, in contrast to the claims of some anecdotal reports,” the National Institutes of Health said in a media release released Friday. “Apart from anecdotal and case reports, this association has not yet been examined in comprehensive studies.”
The National Institutes of Health supported the study conducted by Case Western researchers.
Case Western researchers said they launched their study after European health authorities announced last summer that they were investigating reports of a link between semaglutide and suicidal thoughts.
“The exploding popularity of this drug makes it imperative to understand all possible complications,” study co-author Pamela Davis, MD, PhD, of Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, said in a press release. “It is important to note that previous suggestions that the drug may cause suicidal ideation are not confirmed in this very large and diverse population in the United States.”