In the News

Recent case reports have raised the possibility that semaglutide—a glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist—could be tied to a higher risk of suicidal ideation. But a retrospective study that included about 241 000 patients with overweight or obesity as well as about

1.6 million patients with type 2 diabetes did not confirm that link.

Instead, researchers found the opposite. People taking semaglutide had a lower risk of both first-time and recurrent suicidal ideation compared with those taking non–GLP-1 receptor agonists to manage obesity, such as phentermine, as well as those used to manage type 2 diabetes,

such as metformin.

Because it was retrospective, the current study could not establish a causal link between semaglutide and the lower risk of suicidal ideation, the researchers—including Nora Volkow, MD, the director of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health—wrote in Nature Medicine. They also noted the need for additional controlled trials to better

understand the relationship.