Researchers link popular weight loss drugs to serious digestive problems for ‘hundreds of thousands’ worldwide
Researchers link popular weight loss drugs to serious digestive problems for ‘hundreds of thousands’ worldwide According to a recent study, people taking popular injectable weight-loss drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic, Saxenda, and Victoza may be more susceptible to serious digestive issues like stomach paralysis, pancreatitis, and bowel obstructions than people taking other kinds of weight-loss drugs.
According to the study, these dangers appear to only sometimes affect specific patients — for instance, roughly 1% of Ozempic users developed stomach paralysis. However, the medications are now being used by tens of millions of people globally due to an explosion in demand. Even these rare risks, according to researchers, could result in hundreds of thousands of new cases.
When millions of individuals use these drugs, a 1% risk still corresponds to a lot of people who could get sick. Dr. Mahyar Etminan, an epidemiologist at the University of British Columbia, is the principal study author.
The authors of the study also point out that these issues are not minor. For instance, bowel blockages may require immediate medical attention.
Wegovy and Saxenda’s prescribing information does issue warnings about a number of serious side effects, such as pancreatic inflammation, gallbladder issues, blocked intestines, kidney issues, severe allergic reactions, increased heart rate, suicidal thoughts, changes in vision, and people with diabetes. The warning label for Ozempic has just been updated to include a warning for ileus, or obstructed intestines.
The additionally, labels state that nausea, vomiting, and constipation are the most typical adverse effects. Additionally, they strongly advise against using the drugs if a person has a history of a certain type of hereditary thyroid cancer.
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Researchers at the University of British Columbia combed through a random sample of more than 16 million insurance claims from a prescription drug database that accounts for nearly 93% of all outpatient prescriptions in the US for the study, which was published as a research letter in JAMA. Between 2006 and 2020, the claims were submitted.
They searched for patients who had been given the two injection-only medications semaglutide and liraglutide. Both medications delay the movement of food through the stomach and are classified as GLP-1 agonists. They can assist diabetics manage their blood sugar and cause significant weight loss in both those with and without the disease.
Semaglutide was licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2021 for obese individuals without diabetes.
Researchers at the University of British Columbia combed through a random sample of more than 16 million insurance claims from a prescription drug database that accounts for nearly 93% of all outpatient prescriptions in the US for the study, which was published as a research letter in JAMA. Between 2006 and 2020, the claims were submitted.
They searched for patients who had been given the two injection-only medications semaglutide and liraglutide. Both medications delay the movement of food through the stomach and are classified as GLP-1 agonists. They can assist diabetics manage their blood sugar and cause significant weight loss in both those with and without the disease.
Semaglutide was licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2021 for obese individuals without diabetes. Researchers at the University of British Columbia combed through a random sample of more than 16 million insurance claims from a prescription drug database that accounts for nearly 93% of all outpatient prescriptions in the US for the study, which was published as a research letter in JAMA. Between 2006 and 2020, the claims were submitted.
They searched for patients who had been given the two injection-only medications semaglutide and liraglutide. Both medications delay the movement of food through the stomach and are classified as GLP-1 agonists. They can assist diabetics manage their blood sugar and cause significant weight loss in both those with and without the disease.
About the weight loss and drug warning
Semaglutide was licensed by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2021 for obese individuals without diabetes need to merely lose weight. When recommended for diabetes, it is marketed as Ozempic, while when used for weight loss, it is marketed as Wegovy. Since 2014, the FDA has approved the weight-loss drug liraglutide. Victoza is the name when it is prescribed for diabetes; Salena is the name when it is recommended for weight loss. Doctors started prescribing the weight-loss medications off-label for patients even before the weight-loss medications were approved for sale.
Researchers searched for individuals who had been given an obese diagnosis at least 90 days before to beginning the medication and ruled out anyone who had been given a diabetes diagnosis or who was taking any other medication to regulate their blood sugar.
The frequency of severe digestive issues in those patients was then compared to a similar set of issues in people taking a different type of weight-loss drug, bupropion-naltrexone, which is marketed as the pill Contrave.
In order to help them control their diabetes, people who have diabetes and are taking this drug may be more ready to tolerate the risk of these uncommon adverse events, according to Sodhi.
However, if they had a greater understanding of what they would be entering into, persons who are otherwise healthy but might desire to drop a little weight might decide not to take these prescriptions.
On the other hand, obesity has significant hazards of its own that must also be taken into account, according to Dr. Simon Cork, senior lecturer in physiology at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK. Cork did not participate in the study and disclosed no conflicts of interest pertaining to drugs.
Obesity dramatically raises the risk of stroke, gallbladder disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. With clinically significant and persistent weight loss, these risks drastically decrease, according to Cork, who spoke in an interview with the non-profit Science Media Centre. “The benefits of weight loss far outweigh the risks for the vast majority of patients for whom these drugs are targeted (those with the most severe forms of obesity).”
