Weight loss drugs are associated with increased depression and suicidal thoughts, a study has claimed.
Scientists in South Korea analyzed mental health data from 27,000 adults, including 846 who reported using a prescribed weight-loss medication.
Compared with non users, researchers found weight-loss medication users had 93 percent higher odds of depression and 168 percent higher odds of reporting suicidal thoughts.
Over the decade GLP-1 users were tracked, scientists said their risk of suffering from mental health problems rose if they experienced weight regain after being prescribed the medication.
Dr Ki Young Son and others wrote in the paper: ‘The use of weight loss medications is associated with an increased risk of depression and suicidality.
‘The risk is further elevated among individuals who experience weight regain after medication use.’
Suicide risk was a major safety concern around weight loss drugs after the FDA received hundreds of reports from patients who said they started to experience suicidal thoughts or despair while taking the drugs despite, in some cases, having no prior history of mental health problems.
Initially, the drugs, which include popular options such as Wegovy and Zepbound, were required to carry suicide warnings after patients taking older weight loss treatments reported suffering from depression and suicidal ideation.
But in January this year, the FDA removed them, saying an extensive review of clinical and real-world data showed no increased risk of suicide among users.
A new study has claimed that people who take weight loss drugs are more likely to experience suicidal thoughts or depression
Depression was previously listed on the warning label for the drugs among the suicide warning, advising people to monitor for symptoms. It was also removed when the suicide warning was withdrawn.
Studies have not established a clear link between depression and the drugs, with researchers saying the condition can be caused by multiple factors.
This study was observational, and could not prove that GLP-1 users were more likely to suffer from mental health problems than non-users.
In the paper, published in the Korean Journal of Family Practice, researchers analyzed data from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a major survey of adults in the country, carried out from 2013 to 2022.
About 60 percent of adults included in the analysis were female, while they had an average age of 48 years old.
Among weight loss drug users, 90 percent were female and they had an average age of 41 years old. Researchers adjusted the data in their analysis to account for factors including age and gender.
Overall, among weight loss drug users, 22 percent reported suffering from depression, compared to 11 percent among those who did not use the drugs.
Nearly 10 percent of users also reported suffering from suicidal thoughts, compared to 4.5 percent among non-users.
In terms of those saying they had planned a suicide, 2.2 percent of weight loss drug users said they had done so, compared to 1.4 percent who said they did so among non-users.
Participants were also asked whether they had sought counseling for mental health. Among users, 8.4 percent reported they had done so, compared to 3.4 percent among non-users.
The study did not say which GLP-1s users had taken, although both semaglutide and tirzepatide-based medications have been approved for use in weight loss in South Korea.
In the second part of the study, researchers also analyzed data on patients who reported regaining weight after being prescribed the drugs.
The patients did not say whether they had stopped taking the drugs before regaining the weight, although separate studies have shown patients who used and stopped the drugs regain about 60 percent of the weight they lost within a year, on average.
Compared to people who only regained 6 to 13lbs after using the GLP-1 drugs, researchers found those who reported regaining 13 to 22lbs had 65 percent higher odds of reporting suicidal thoughts.
People reporting a 13 to 22lb regain also had 36 percent higher odds of saying they had planned a suicide and 30 percent higher odds of saying they had sought counseling for mental health problems.
Those who reported regaining more than 22lbs after using the drugs had 267 percent higher odds of reporting suicidal thoughts, 96 percent higher odds of saying they had planned a suicide and 70 percent higher odds of saying they had sought counseling for mental health problems.
Patients were no more likely to experience depression when they regained weight after receiving a prescription for weight loss drugs than if they didn’t regain the weight.
