Semaglutide and Suicidal Ideation: Debunking Myths with New Analysis

2024-02-10 00:52:10

These patient complaints and case reports had prompted health agencies, including the European Agency EMA, to investigate this possible association. This new analysis reveals that patients treated with semaglutide actually have a 49 to 73% reduced risk of suicidal ideation compared to patients receiving other medications for diabetes and/or obesity.

Semaglutide has become a very popular drug to treat obesity and manage type 2 diabetes in a relatively short time. Semaglutide helps regulate appetite and insulin levels by targeting glucagon-like peptide receptors. 1 (GLP1R)

The study examined the electronic health records of 240,618 obese or overweight patients, with an average age of 50 years, 73% women, and who were prescribed semaglutide or another medication for weight loss between June 2021 and December 2022. Within this group, 232,771 participants had no history of suicidal ideation and 7,847 patients did. The researchers also validated their results in 1,589,855 patients with type 2 diabetes who also received semaglutide or other medications for diabetes and obesity, between December 2017 and May 2021. This group included 1,572,885 patients without and 16,970 patients with a history of suicidal thoughts. Participants were followed for at least 6 months following treatment was prescribed. The analysis reveals that:

• patients who received semaglutide for weight loss have a 0.11% risk of suicidal ideation for the first time and 7% recurrently;
• patients who received other medications for diabetes and obesity had a risk of 0.43% and 14%, respectively, of suicidal ideation for the first time or recurrently;
• in participants with type 2 diabetes specifically, prescribing semaglutide was associated with a 0.13% risk of first-time suicidal thoughts and a 10% risk of recurrent suicidal thoughts, vs. 0.36% and 18%, respectively, for other drugs;

• also over longer follow-up periods, semaglutide remains associated with a lower risk of suicidal thoughts.

In conclusion, semaglutide therefore does not appear to increase the risk of suicidal ideation, contrary to some anecdotal reports. However, the authors emphasize the need for a more detailed and longer-term evaluation of this association.

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