Oct. 5, 2023 – Individuals taking well-liked medicines like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Rybelsus for weight loss are at greater threat for doubtlessly severe abdomen and intestinal points, in comparison with folks taking a weight reduction drug permitted in 2014, a big examine reveals.
These taking certainly one of these medicine, often called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, had been 9 occasions extra prone to have pancreatitis, an typically painful irritation of the pancreas, in comparison with others taking a mixture of naltrexone and bupropion for weight reduction (model identify Contrave).
Different findings present that individuals taking these medicine:
- Have been over 4 occasions extra prone to get a bowel obstruction, which prevents meals from going by the big or small intestines, with signs like nausea, vomiting, cramping and/or bloating
- Have been greater than three-and-a-half occasions extra prone to get abdomen paresis, a blockage of meals within the abdomen that may trigger nausea, vomiting, and abdomen ache
The examine was published today within the Journal of the American Medical Affiliation.
Researchers say their findings will not be about scaring folks off the load loss medicine, however as a substitute about growing consciousness that these potential opposed outcomes can occur. That manner, folks can think about the dangers and advantages earlier than beginning these medicines.
Uncommon However There
Individuals taking these medicine for weight reduction have a couple of 1% to 2% probability of getting these occasions, together with a 1% threat for abdomen paresis, stated Mahyar Etminan, PharmD, the examine’s senior writer and an skilled in drug security and pharmacoepidemiology on the College of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Given the popularity and wide use of those medicine, these opposed occasions, though uncommon, “have to be thought-about by sufferers serious about utilizing them for weight reduction,” co-author Mohit Sodhi, a graduate of the College of British Columbia’s Experimental Medication Program and fourth 12 months medical scholar, stated in a information launch concerning the examine.
Individuals taking a GLP-1 to deal with diabetes could be extra prepared to simply accept the dangers, Etminan stated, given their potential benefits, particularly for reducing the danger of coronary heart issues. “However those that are in any other case wholesome and simply taking them for weight reduction may need to be extra cautious in weighing the danger/profit equation,” he stated.
Abdomen Blockage Warning
This isn’t the primary report of GI points linked to those medicines, nevertheless it’s one of many largest. Most stories have been about just a few folks with abdomen and different points.
The FDA introduced on Sept. 28 that it could require drugmakers to incorporate a warning about intestinal blockages on the Ozempic label.
Relating to ileus, the medical time period for intestinal blockage, “that is yet one more situation Ozempic customers may expertise,” stated Steven Batash, MD, a number one physician on the Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss Heart in New York Metropolis. He was not concerned within the examine.
“There are just a few GI circumstances which are extra probably amongst folks utilizing brokers like Ozempic for weight reduction, together with a extra uncommon aspect impact – gastroparesis, also called abdomen paralysis,” stated Batash, a gastroenterologist with NYU Medical Heart, Lenox Hill Hospital, and New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Semaglutide, the energetic ingredient in these medicines, slows down digestion within the abdomen and, in uncommon instances, may cause gastroparesis, he defined.
The brand new examine’s findings are primarily based on medical insurance declare data for about 16 million U.S. sufferers. Sodhi and colleagues checked out folks prescribed both semaglutide or liraglutide (Saxenda), two principal GLP-1 agonists, between 2006 and 2020. FDA approval of GLP-1s for weight reduction didn’t come till 2021, so the researchers additionally included folks whose data confirmed a current historical past of weight problems.
One limitation of medical data is the researchers weren’t in a position to verify folks had been solely taking semaglutide or liraglutide for weight reduction. Some folks could have been taking them for diabetes or each.
