2023-10-05 20:06:44
Some of the most popular weight loss medications, diabetes drugs known as GLP-1 agonists like Ozempic, may have a dark side by increasing the risk of serious gastrointestinal problems.
This is confirmed by an investigation of the University of British Columbia (Canada) showing that GLP-1 agonists, which include brands like Wegovy, Ozempic, Rybelsus y Saxendaare associated with an increased risk of serious medical conditions, such as stomach paralysis, pancreatitis, and intestinal problems.
This is the first large population-based study to examine adverse gastrointestinal events in nondiabetic patients using medications specifically for weight loss. The findings have been published in ‘JAMA‘.
“Given the wide use of these medications, these adverse events, although rare, should be considered by patients who are considering using them to lose weight,” warns the first author. Mohit Sodhi.
Sodhi explains that risk will vary depending on whether a patient is using these medications for diabetes, obesity, or just weight loss in general. «People who are otherwise healthy may be less willing to accept these potentially serious adverse events.».
GLP-1 agonists were originally developed to manage type 2 diabetes, but have skyrocketed in popularity over the past decade as an off-label weight loss tool.
It was not until 2021 that some forms of medications were approved as a treatment for obesity. However, randomized clinical trials examining the effectiveness of weight loss medications were not designed to capture rare gastrointestinal events due to their small sample sizes and short follow-up periods.
“There have been anecdotal reports of some patients using these medications to lose weight and then experiencing repeated episodes of nausea and vomiting secondary to a condition known as gastroparesis,” says lead author Mahyar Etminan, “but until now, there have been no data.” of large epidemiological studies.
Compared with bupropion-naltrexone, GLP-1 agonists were associated with a 9.09-fold increased risk of pancreatitis
Researchers examined the health insurance claims records of approximately 16 million American patients and looked at people who were prescribed semaglutide or liraglutidetwo major GLP-1 agonists, between 2006 and 2020. They included people with a recent history of obesity and excluded those with diabetes or who had been prescribed another antidiabetic medication.
They analyzed records to see how many patients developed one of four gastrointestinal conditions and compared that rate to patients using another weight-loss drug, bupropion-naltrexone.
Compared with bupropion-naltrexone, GLP-1 agonists were associated with a 9.09-fold increased risk of pancreatitis, or inflammation of the pancreas, which can cause severe abdominal pain and, in some cases, require hospitalization and surgery; 4.22 times higher for intestinal obstruction, in which food is prevented from passing through the small or large intestine, causing symptoms such as cramps, bloating, nausea and vomiting, and 3.67 times higher for gastroparesis, or stomach paralysis , which limits the passage of food from the stomach to the small intestine and causes symptoms such as vomiting, nausea and abdominal pain.
Researchers say that although the events are rare, as millions of people around the world use these medications, they could result in hundreds of thousands of people experiencing these conditions.
«These medications are becoming more accessible and it is worrying that in some cases people may simply go online and order these types of medications when they do not have a full understanding of what could happen. This goes directly against the mantra of informed consent.» says Sodhi.
The researchers hope that regulatory agencies and drug manufacturers will consider updating the warning labels on their products, which currently do not include the risk of gastroparesis.
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