Users of the popular weight-loss drug semaglutide, a.k.a Wegovy / Ozempic, are significantly more likely to have suicidal thoughts than users of other weight-loss drugs, according to a new study.
Researchers from the Zucker School of Medicine in New York looked at a World Health Organization global database of adverse drug effects and compared rates of suicidality for semaglutide with those for other weight-loss drugs and all drugs in the database.
They found semaglutide use was associated with “disproportionately increased reporting of suicidality.” There was a higher risk of suicidality in people taking semaglutide along with antidepressants and benzodiazepines.
In half of the cases where suicidal thoughts occurred, semaglutide was being taken off-label, without a prescription.
Suicidal thoughts ceased in over half of the cases reported once use of the drug ceased.
“Authorities should consider issuing a warning to inform about this risk,” the study authors concluded.
Serious concerns have already been raised about the drugs with regard to digestive function, with widespread reports of stomach paralysis (gastroparesis) and other unpleasant symptoms, including uncontrollable diarrhea. Chronic bowel obstructions, which can be fatal, have also been linked to use of the drug.
Suicidality has been reported in trials for weight-loss drugs such as semaglutide and liraglutide, but manufacturers of the drugs and regulators have done their best to dismiss these side-effects as they push for wider licensing and availability.
Novo Nordisk, manufacturer of semaglutide, is testing the drug for children as young as six, and a whole host of new applications for drugs like semaglutide are being proposed, including as treatments for addiction and neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s, and even as anti-aging drugs.
In 2023, semaglutide drugs earned Novo Nordisk a whopping $21.1 billion dollars, accounting for almost two-thirds of the company’s entire revenue. Sales of the drug in its various forms were up 89% on the previous year. 71% of the drugs revenues come from customers in the US.
Novo Nordisk is now Europe’s most valuable company, with a market capitalization of $570 billion—larger than the entire Danish economy.