Obesity and diabetes
Following disturbing reports from Iceland, the European Medicines Agency has investigated whether Ozempic and other similar medicines cause suicidal thoughts and self-harm. The answer is no.
Last summer, Iceland’s medicines agency reported that it knew of 150 people who had self-harmed or were experiencing suicidal thoughts. The big fear at the time was that there was a possible connection with the syringe that patients regularly injected into themselves. The 150 patients took semaglutide (the active substance in Ozempic) or liraglutide (a similar medicine) because they suffered from diabetes or were overweight. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) took charge of the case. Following research, it states that there is no evidence that there is a causal link between self-harm and suicidal thoughts and the use of Ozempic and other similar medicines (the ‘GLP1 receptor agonists’).
In an analysis of electronic records of patients with type 2 diabetes – the target group for which Ozempic was originally developed – the EMA found no link between the use of GLP1 receptor agonists and self-harm, suicidal thoughts or actions.
This is completely in line with what American researchers reported in the journal Nature in January. They also found no link between suicidal thoughts and the use of GLP1 receptor agonists. The researchers had analyzed the electronic patient files of 1.8 million people with diabetes and/or overweight. It showed that patients who received a GLP1 receptor agonist even suffered from suicidal thoughts slightly less often than patients treated with another type of medication.
The leaflets from Ozempic and co. should therefore not be adjusted for the time being. But the list of side effects is not minuscule anyway. 40 percent of patients who take Wegovy (the slimming injection that contains the same substance as Ozempic) complain of nausea, 30 percent of diarrhea and a quarter have to vomit. Other common side effects include fatigue, headache and stomach ache.
Anyone with questions about suicide can contact the Suicide Line on the toll-free number 1813 and on the website www.zelfbloed1813.be.
