Semaglutide and similar drugs may not be associated with mental health risks

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-09-04 01:00

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Semaglutide and other glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists are not associated with increased mental health and suicide risks respectively, according to two international studies. The first study used health data from Sweden and Denmark to monitor suicide rates among over 100,000 adults starting treatment with a GLP agonist - a class of diabetes drugs including semaglutide - or another diabetes drug, an SGLT2 inhibitor. The researchers say there was no evidence of an increased suicide death risk after about 2.5 years of follow-up. In the second paper, which was funded by the company that produces semaglutide, researchers analysed data from a series of semaglutide clinical trials including 3377 participants, looking at how their depression scores changed over 68 weeks. The researchers say those taking semaglutide had no higher risk of developing depression symptoms than the participants taking a placebo, and there was even evidence of a small reduction in depressive symptoms for the semaglutide group.

Media release

From: JAMA

Paper 1 - About The Study: This cohort study, including mostly patients with type 2 diabetes, does not show an association between use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and an increased risk of suicide death, self-harm, or incident depression and anxiety-related disorders.

Paper 2 - About The Study: The results of this post hoc analysis suggest that treatment with semaglutide, 2.4 mg, did not increase the risk of developing symptoms of depression or suicidal ideation/behavior vs placebo and was associated with a small but statistically significant reduction in depressive symptoms (not considered clinically meaningful). People with obesity should be monitored for mental health concerns so they can receive appropriate support and care.

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Research JAMA, Web page Paper 1. The URL will go live after the embargo ends

Research JAMA, Web page Paper 2. The URL will go live after the embargo ends

Journal/
conference: JAMA Internal Medicine

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Karolinska Institutet, Sweden (Paper 1), University of Pennsylvania, USA (Paper 2)

Funder: Paper 1: This study was supported by the Strategic Research Area Epidemiology program at Karolinska Institutet. Paper 2 - This analysis was funded by Novo Nordisk A/S.

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