Drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy—also known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) or semaglutide medications—have been linked to increased suicidal thoughts, says a new study published in JAMA Network Open on Aug. 20.
“A detected signal of semaglutide-associated suicidal ideation warrants urgent clarification,” the academic researchers noted in the study.
Using an expansive World Health Organization database of reported individual adverse reactions to medications, they conducted a disproportionality analysis of GLP-1 RAs semaglutide and liraglutide, looking for observations of suicidal thoughts, and found such thoughts to be greater than expected.
What they found was a 45% greater rate of reports of suicidal thoughts associated with semaglutide than with all the other drugs in the database.
Mixed findings in semaglutide studies
It’s worth noting that findings were small, making up only 0.35% of the total reports associated with the diabetes drug. There was also no evidence these drugs caused suicidal ideation.
It’s also worth noting that, in January 2024, separate researchers came to an opposite conclusion: In a study published in the journal Nature Medicine looking at 240,618 patients prescribed semaglutide, researchers found that patients taking semaglutide compared with other non-GLP1R agonist antiobesity medications had a lower risk of suicidal ideation.
Earlier, in July 2023, according to the newest study, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) began an ongoing review after a series of reports of suicidal or self-harming thoughts associated with liraglutide or semaglutide. The British Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) then announced similar investigations.
The EMA and FDA both claimed they did not find a clear relationship between GLP-1 RAs and suicidal thoughts.
In the most recent study, researchers clarified that the risk of suicidal ideation is heightened for people with anxiety and depressive disorders or other psychiatric disorders. They urge a precaution of use in patients with psychiatric disorders or at psychological risk, and suggest a warning be added to all semaglutide packaging (the FDA label of semaglutide for Wegovy currently warns to monitor for depression or suicidal thoughts).
Patients without a history of psychiatric disorders may not be at a high risk of suicidal thoughts, the researchers write.
Notably, researchers found through the study that another diabetes medication, liraglutide, did not have a link with suicidal thoughts or ideation.
If you need immediate mental health support, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
For more on mental health:
- COVID can cause mental illness—but being vaccinated helps, new study shows
- Antidepressant not working? AI may do a better job than your doctor in matching you with the best medicine
- The summer COVID surge has arrived. Here’s the latest on symptoms and treatment
- Got late-summer travel plans? Here’s where COVID cases are spiking in the U.S.
- One of the best things you can do for your mental health, according to a psychologist who counsels U.S. Olympians
