Still lifetime of Wegovy an injectable prescription weight reduction medicine that has helped individuals with obesity. It needs to be used with a weight reduction plan and physical activity.
Michael Siluk | UCG | Getty Images
Blockbuster weight reduction and diabetes drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic could also be related to an increased risk of three rare, but severe, stomach conditions in non-diabetic patients, in keeping with a recent epidemiological study released Thursday.
The study, published within the research journal JAMA, comes as Novo Nordisk‘s Wegovy, Ozempic and similar treatments skyrocket in popularity within the U.S. for his or her ability to cause dramatic weight reduction over time. But those drugs, referred to as GLP-1s, are also facing increased scrutiny after some patients reported experiencing stomach paralysis and suicidal ideation while taking them.
GLP-1s work by slowing digestion to suppress an individual’s appetite but may cause problems if that process slows down an excessive amount of.
Researchers on the University of British Columbia said the conditions within the study include one disorder not named within the warning labels for those drugs: stomach paralysis, which slows or completely stops the movement of food from the stomach to the intestine and may cause symptoms like persistent vomiting.
The study also notes an increased risk of bowel obstruction, a disorder where food is blocked from passing through the small or large intestine, and pancreatitis, which refers to pancreas inflammation. The labels for the drugs already include warnings about pancreatitis and certain types of bowel obstruction.
The researchers specifically examined semaglutide – the energetic ingredient utilized in Wegovy and Ozempic – and one other GLP-1 called liraglutide against one other weight reduction treatment called bupropion-naltrexone, which works in another way to assist patients shed weight.
Their research is the primary large, population-level study to look at the danger of great stomach conditions in non-diabetic patients specifically using GLP-1s for weight reduction.
Previous studies have highlighted the risk of those conditions in diabetic patients taking GLP-1s, in keeping with the researchers. Individuals with diabetes are also at increased risk of experiencing stomach paralysis and pancreatitis overall, even without the treatments.
“That is why we type of desired to take diabetes out of the equation,” said Mohit Sodhi, one among the authors of the study. “Along with the undeniable fact that tens of millions of individuals all over the world are using these drugs to assist them shed weight.”
Novo Nordisk didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment on the study.
Research findings
The study findings are based on an evaluation of medical insurance claim records for roughly 16 million U.S. patients.
Researchers specifically checked out individuals with a recent history of obesity who were prescribed semaglutide or liraglutide between 2006 and 2020. They excluded those with diabetes or patients who had been prescribed one other diabetes drug.
Most patients within the study were prescribed liraglutide, but researchers said the increased risks they observed could apply to your entire GLP-1 drug class.
“Our data end date was the tip of 2020, while the recent boom in semaglutide happened within the last yr,” Sodhi said. “Nonetheless, we imagine it’s a category effect.”
The researchers measured the speed at which patients developed 4 different serious stomach conditions while taking semaglutide, liraglutide and bupropion-naltrexone, that are stomach paralysis, pancreatitis, bowel obstruction and biliary disease, a bunch of conditions affecting the gall bladder.
Compared with bupropion-naltrexone, GLP-1s were related to a 9 times higher risk of pancreatitis, a 4 times higher risk of bowel obstruction and a greater than 3 times higher risk of stomach paralysis, in keeping with the study. The findings suggest the risks of those conditions are higher in patients specifically taking GLP-1s quite than other weight reduction medications that work in another way.
Around 7 out of each 1,000 patients experienced stomach paralysis while taking liraglutide, and nearly 10 out of each 1,000 patients experienced that condition while taking semaglutide.
And Sodhi noted, “the number just continues to climb whenever you blow it as much as the population level.”
“When you’ve greater than one million people taking the medication worldwide, that is 10,000 individuals who could potentially experience gastroparesis in keeping with the incidence rate for semaglutide,” he told CNBC. “It’s rare, but that is still a whole lot of people.”
This recent archive picture, taken 17 August 2023 and distributed Tuesday 26 September 2023, shows a package with Ozempic medicine at a hospital in Bonheiden. T
Dirk Waem | AFP | Getty Images
Almost 5 out of each 1,000 patients experienced pancreatitis while taking semaglutide, while roughly 8 out of each 1,000 patients experienced that condition while taking liraglutide.
Meanwhile, around 8 out of each 1,000 patients experienced bowel obstruction while taking either of those GLP-1s.
The researchers also found a high rate of biliary disease in patients taking either liraglutide or semaglutide, but they said the difference was “not found to be statistically significant.”
The researchers hope the study will inform health-care providers prescribing GLP-1s concerning the potential drawbacks of taking the drugs.
“We’re all big proponents for informed patient consent,” Sodhi said. “If someone has decided they would love to take a GLP-1 for weight reduction, we encourage them to have a conversation with their provider about how it might help them achieve their goals. But they must also be made aware of the potential drawbacks of taking this medication.”