October 5, 2023 – Folks taking fashionable medicines like Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus to drop pounds are at larger threat of probably critical abdomen and intestinal issues than individuals taking a weight-loss drug permitted in 2014, a big examine finds.
Folks taking one in every of these medicine, known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, have been 9 occasions extra more likely to have pancreatitis, an usually painful irritation of the pancreas, than others taking a mix. naltrexone and bupropion. to drop pounds (Contrave model).
Different outcomes present that folks taking these medicines:
- We have been 4 occasions extra more likely to have a bowel obstruction, which prevents meals from passing by means of the big or small gut, with signs corresponding to nausea, vomiting, cramping and/or bloating.
- Had been greater than three and a half occasions extra more likely to have gastric paresis, a blockage of meals within the abdomen that may trigger nausea, vomiting and abdomen ache.
The examine was revealed immediately within the Journal of the American Medical Affiliation.
The researchers say their findings will not be supposed to scare individuals away from taking weight reduction medicines, however slightly to extend consciousness that these potential uncomfortable side effects can happen. This manner, individuals can take into account the dangers and advantages earlier than beginning these medicines.
Uncommon however there
Folks taking these medicines for weight reduction have a few 1 to 2 p.c likelihood of getting these occasions, together with a 1 p.c threat of abdomen paresis, mentioned Mahyar Etminan, PharmD, lead creator of the examine. and skilled in drug security and pharmacoepidemiology on the Institute. College of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
Given the recognition and large use Amongst these medicine, these uncomfortable side effects, though uncommon, “needs to be thought-about by sufferers contemplating utilizing them for weight reduction,” mentioned co-author Mohit Sodhi, a graduate of the College’s Experimental Medication program. College of British Columbia and fourth 12 months medical scholar. in a press launch in regards to the examine.
Folks taking a GLP-1 to deal with diabetes could also be extra prepared to just accept the dangers, Etminan mentioned, given its potential advantages, together with decreasing the chance of coronary heart issues. “However those that are in any other case wholesome and taking them merely to drop pounds might wish to be extra cautious in evaluating the chance/profit equation,” he mentioned.
Abdomen blockage warning
This isn’t the primary report of gastrointestinal issues linked to those medicine, however it is among the largest. Many of the studies concerned just a few individuals affected by abdomen issues and different issues.
The FDA introduced on September 28 that it will require drug producers to incorporate a warning about intestinal blockages on the Ozempic label.
Concerning ileus, the medical time period for intestinal blockage, “that is one other situation that Ozempic customers may expertise,” mentioned Steven Batash, MD, a distinguished doctor on the Batash Endoscopic Weight Loss Heart in New York. York. He didn’t take part within the examine.
“There are just a few gastrointestinal circumstances which can be extra doubtless in individuals utilizing brokers like Ozempic for weight reduction, together with a rarer facet impact: gastroparesis, often known as abdomen paralysis,” she mentioned. mentioned Batash, a gastroenterologist at NYU Medical Heart, Lenox Hill Hospital. , and New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Semaglutide, the lively ingredient in these medicine, slows digestion within the abdomen and, in uncommon circumstances, may cause gastroparesis, he defined.
The brand new examine’s findings are based mostly on medical health insurance claims data of about 16 million U.S. sufferers. Sodhi and colleagues checked out individuals who have been prescribed semaglutide or liraglutide (Saxenda), two principal GLP-1 agonists, between 2006 and 2020. FDA approval of GLP-1s for weight reduction did not happen till 2021, so the researchers additionally included individuals whose data confirmed a latest historical past of weight problems.
One limitation of the medical file overview is that researchers weren’t capable of verify that folks have been solely taking semaglutide or liraglutide for weight reduction. Some individuals might have been taking them for diabetes, or each.
