Diabetes drug Ozempic linked to ‘suicidal thoughts’ in patients

Over the days, Ozempic, an injectable prescription drug that tackles Type 2 diabetes quite well had gained popularity due to its weight loss claims. However, recently, patients have reported having suicidal thoughts after taking the injectable drug.

The drug is basically based on a molecule semaglutide, which kind of copies the structure of glucagon-like peptide 1.

GLP-1 is a human hormone that helps regulate appetite and blood sugar levels using specific receptors in these channels. Owing to similar structures semaglutide can help feel full, making humans less hungry and also stopping them from overeating .

Between 2020 and 2022 semaglutide had been pretty popular, with it being prescribed by more than 300% across the US. But, the problem starts arising when people use this drug solely as a weight loss drug, which is sure to have some side effects.

New study links Ozempic to increased suicidality, but researchers remain cautious

According to researchers many patients have reported having gut problems. Psychiatric ones, including suicidal thoughts, followed these, post the consumption of the medicine.

A new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open reported patients having suicidal thoughts who took semaglutide. The researchers discovered 107 reports of patients, out of which around 30,500 people said they wanted to kill themselves while taking the drug.

Additionally, around 52,000 people taking an older diabetes drug liraglutide reported no such incident. However, when the researchers compared the reports of suicidal thoughts with the former drug , they discovered that the risk increased by around 45%.

They even suggested that this group of people were prone to risks by about 4 times than their counterparts.  Dr. Mahyar Etminan, an expert in drug safety at the University of British Columbia said , “Basically, it is hard to tease out from this study whether it is the drug doing this or the mood disorder.”

This was when researchers were still debating as to whether or not the study was accurate. To this, the researchers have themselves stated that the study has its own limitations.

Ian Douglas, a researcher said , “This paper presents, at best, weak evidence of an association between semaglutide and suicidality”.

Experts urge caution as debate continues over Ozempic’s potential psychiatric risks

Despite all the backlash from the doctor community, there are several doctors who agree with this statement. Some of the most common names include Dr Francesco Salvo and Dr Jean-Luc Faillie from France.

They believe that this drug is a common one, and in most cases, its conclusion may vary depending on the database used or the methods used to conduct the research.

“Depression or suicidality are rare but extremely severe events and need to be prevented and managed as much as possible,” Salvo and Faillie wrote .

As of now, more information and a lot more research are required to discover whether or not the claims are true. Even though there is solid evidence that backs the negative side effects of consuming the drug, still a few grey areas remain.

For example, there is a whole bunch of researchers who do not agree with the study at all. Keeping all that in mind, if the patients continue to face discomfort, they must discontinue the medicine immediately, doctors say.