Study: Diabetes, Obesity Drugs Not Linked to Suicidal Thoughts
2024-01-23
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1A large U.S. study found no evidence that taking Ozempic or Wegovy is tied to an increase in suicidal thoughts, researchers reported recently.
2Both Ozempic for type 2 diabetes and the obesity treatment Wegovy have the same active ingredient, semaglutide.
3The analysis included electronic medical record data from more than 1.8 million patients.
4Researchers actually found a lower risk of new and recurring suicidal thoughts in those taking semaglutide compared to those using other medications for weight loss or diabetes.
5Semaglutide belongs to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, which were designed to treat type 2 diabetes.
6In addition to helping control blood sugar levels, the drugs produce a feeling of fullness.
7Concerns over reports of suicidal ideation connected with semaglutide led to an investigation by the European Medicines Agency.
8The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has listed suicidal ideation as a possible safety concern for GLP-1 drugs.
9A Reuters examination last year found that the FDA had received 265 reports of suicidal thoughts or behavior in patients taking semaglutide or similar medicines since 2010.
10Thirty-six of those reports describe a death by suicide or suspected suicide.
11Such events do not prove a connection between a drug and a side effect.
12But they can signal to officials a need to study a specific risk.
13The study appeared online in the journal Nature.
14It was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
15The researchers examined data on 240,258 U.S. patients prescribed Wegovy or other medications for weight loss and nearly 1.6 million with type 2 diabetes prescribed Ozempic or other treatments.
16Researchers compared nearly 53,000 Wegovy patients to the same number of closely matched users of other weight-loss drugs.
17They found that during the first six months of use, first-time suicidal thoughts were reported by 0.11 percent of Wegovy users.
18That is compared to 0.43 percent of users of other drugs that do not belong to the same class as semaglutide.
19After taking other risk factors into consideration, the risk of first-time suicidal thoughts was 73 percent lower with Wegovy, the researchers said.
20No patient in the Wegovy group reported a suicide attempt, compared to 14 users of the other drugs, the report said.
21Among patients with a history of suicidal thoughts, the risk of recurring suicidal thoughts was 56 percent lower with Wegovy than other weight-loss medicines.
22Similar patterns were seen for use of Ozempic compared with other diabetes drugs.
23The findings were consistent no matter the patients' sex, age, or ethnicity for both semaglutide types, the researchers found.
24Such a study cannot prove that GLP-1 agonists do not increase the risk of suicidal ideation.
25But the findings may reduce concerns.
26The researchers were unable to assess the statistical significance of differences in actual suicide attempts.
27The researchers noted that suicide attempts are "critically different from suicidal ideations."
28Pamela Davis is a professor at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Ohio.
29She was one of the writers of the study.
30She said the growth in popularity of Ozempic makes it very important "to understand all its potential complications."
31Suggestions that the drug may cause suicidal thoughts are not supported by "this very large and diverse population in the U.S.," Davis added.
32I'm Dan Novak.
1A large U.S. study found no evidence that taking Ozempic or Wegovy is tied to an increase in suicidal thoughts, researchers reported recently. 2Both Ozempic for type 2 diabetes and the obesity treatment Wegovy have the same active ingredient, semaglutide. 3The analysis included electronic medical record data from more than 1.8 million patients. Researchers actually found a lower risk of new and recurring suicidal thoughts in those taking semaglutide compared to those using other medications for weight loss or diabetes. 4Semaglutide belongs to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, which were designed to treat type 2 diabetes. In addition to helping control blood sugar levels, the drugs produce a feeling of fullness. 5Concerns over reports of suicidal ideation connected with semaglutide led to an investigation by the European Medicines Agency. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has listed suicidal ideation as a possible safety concern for GLP-1 drugs. 6A Reuters examination last year found that the FDA had received 265 reports of suicidal thoughts or behavior in patients taking semaglutide or similar medicines since 2010. Thirty-six of those reports describe a death by suicide or suspected suicide. 7Such events do not prove a connection between a drug and a side effect. But they can signal to officials a need to study a specific risk. 8The study appeared online in the journal Nature. It was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The researchers examined data on 240,258 U.S. patients prescribed Wegovy or other medications for weight loss and nearly 1.6 million with type 2 diabetes prescribed Ozempic or other treatments. 9Researchers compared nearly 53,000 Wegovy patients to the same number of closely matched users of other weight-loss drugs. 10They found that during the first six months of use, first-time suicidal thoughts were reported by 0.11 percent of Wegovy users. That is compared to 0.43 percent of users of other drugs that do not belong to the same class as semaglutide. 11After taking other risk factors into consideration, the risk of first-time suicidal thoughts was 73 percent lower with Wegovy, the researchers said. 12No patient in the Wegovy group reported a suicide attempt, compared to 14 users of the other drugs, the report said. 13Among patients with a history of suicidal thoughts, the risk of recurring suicidal thoughts was 56 percent lower with Wegovy than other weight-loss medicines. 14Similar patterns were seen for use of Ozempic compared with other diabetes drugs. 15The findings were consistent no matter the patients' sex, age, or ethnicity for both semaglutide types, the researchers found. 16Such a study cannot prove that GLP-1 agonists do not increase the risk of suicidal ideation. But the findings may reduce concerns. 17The researchers were unable to assess the statistical significance of differences in actual suicide attempts. The researchers noted that suicide attempts are "critically different from suicidal ideations." 18Pamela Davis is a professor at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Ohio. She was one of the writers of the study. She said the growth in popularity of Ozempic makes it very important "to understand all its potential complications." 19Suggestions that the drug may cause suicidal thoughts are not supported by "this very large and diverse population in the U.S.," Davis added. 20I'm Dan Novak. 21Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by Reuters. 22________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24obesity - n. fat in a way that is unhealthy 25recur - v. to happen or appear again 26ideation - n. the formation of ideas or concepts 27prescribe - v. to officially tell someone to use as a remedy or treatment 28consistent - adj. always acting or behaving in the same way 29diverse - adj. different from each other