October 5, 2023 – People taking popular medications resembling Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus for weight reduction have a better risk of probably serious stomach and intestinal problems than people taking a weight-loss drug approved in 2014, a big study shows.
Those who took one among these drugs, often known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, were nine times more more likely to develop pancreatitis, an often painful inflammation of the pancreas, than those that took a mixture of naltrexone and bupropion for weight reduction (brand name Contrave).
Other findings show that individuals taking these medications:
- The likelihood of developing an intestinal obstruction that forestalls food from passing through the massive or small intestine was greater than 4 times higher, with symptoms resembling nausea, vomiting, cramps and/or bloating
- They had a greater than three and a half times higher risk of gastric paresis, a blockage of food within the stomach that may cause nausea, vomiting and stomach pain.
The study was published today within the Journal of the American Medical Association.
According to the researchers, their findings aren't intended to scare people away from weight-loss drugs, but quite to boost awareness that these potential unwanted side effects can occur. This way, people can weigh the risks and advantages before they begin taking these drugs.
Rare but available
People taking these drugs for weight reduction have a few 1 percent to 2 percent risk of developing these events, including a 1 percent risk of gastric paresis, said Mahyar Etminan, PharmD, senior writer of the study and a drug safety expert and pharmacoepidemiology on the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Given the Popularity and wide use These unwanted side effects, while rare with these drugs, “must be considered by patients considering taking them for weight loss,” said co-author Mohit Sodhi, a graduate of the experimental medicine program on the University of British Columbia and a fourth-year medical student, in a press release in regards to the study.
People taking GLP-1 to treat diabetes could also be more willing to just accept the risks due to potential advantages, particularly lowering the chance of heart problems, Etminan said. “But those who are otherwise healthy and are taking it just for weight loss may want to weigh the risk-benefit ratio more carefully,” he said.
Warning of gastric obstruction
This just isn't the primary report of gastrointestinal problems related to these drugs, but it surely is one of the extensive. Most reports have involved just a few individuals with stomach and other problems.
The FDA announced on September 28 that it could require drug manufacturers to Warning of intestinal blockages on the Ozempic label.
As for ileus, the medical term for intestinal blockage, “this is another condition that Ozempic users may suffer from,” said Steven Batash, MD, a senior physician on the Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss Center in New York City. He was not involved within the study.
“There are some gastrointestinal disorders that are more common in people who use weight loss drugs like Ozempic, including a less common side effect – gastroparesis, also known as gastric paralysis,” said Batash, a gastroenterologist at NYU Medical Center, Lenox Hill Hospital and New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Semaglutide, the lively ingredient in these drugs, slows digestion within the stomach and may, in rare cases, cause gastroparesis, he explained.
The results of the brand new study are based on medical insurance records from roughly 16 million U.S. patients. Sodhi and his colleagues studied individuals who were prescribed either semaglutide or liraglutide (Saxenda), two essential GLP-1 agonists, between 2006 and 2020. FDA approval of GLP-1 for weight reduction didn't come until 2021, so researchers also included people whose medical records showed a recent history of obesity.
One limitation of medical records is that researchers couldn't confirm that individuals were taking semaglutide or liraglutide just for weight reduction. Some people could have taken them for diabetes or each.