VOA健康报道2024--Study: Diabetes, Obesity Drugs Not Linked to Suicidal Thoughts

Study: Diabetes¹, Obesity² Drugs Not Linked to Suicidal Thoughts

A large U.S. study found no evidence that taking Ozempic or Wegovy is tied to an increase in suicidal thoughts, researchers reported recently.

Both Ozempic for type 2 diabetes and the obesity treatment Wegovy have the same active ingredient, semaglutide.

The analysis included electronic medical record data from more than 1.8 million patients. Researchers actually found a lower risk of new and recurring⁴ suicidal thoughts in those taking semaglutide compared to those using other medications for weight loss or diabetes.

Semaglutide belongs to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, which were designed to treat type 2 diabetes. In addition to helping⁵ control blood sugar levels, the drugs produce a feeling of fullness.

Concerns over reports of suicidal ideation connected with semaglutide led to an investigation⁶ by the European Medicines Agency. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has listed suicidal ideation as a possible safety concern for GLP-1 drugs.

A Reuters examination last year found that the FDA had received 265 reports of suicidal thoughts or behavior in patients taking semaglutide or similar medicines since 2010. Thirty-six of those reports describe a death by suicide or suspected suicide.

Such events do not prove a connection between a drug and a side effect. But they can signal to officials a need to study a specific risk.

The study appeared online in the journal Nature. It was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The researchers examined data on 240,258 U.S. patients prescribed Wegovy or other medications for weight loss and nearly 1.6 million with type 2 diabetes prescribed Ozempic or other treatments.

Researchers compared nearly 53,000 Wegovy patients to the same number of closely matched users of other weight-loss drugs.

They found that during the first six months of use, first-time suicidal thoughts were reported by 0.11 percent of Wegovy users. That is compared to 0.43 percent of users of other drugs that do not belong to the same class as semaglutide.

After taking other risk factors into consideration, the risk of first-time suicidal thoughts was 73 percent lower with Wegovy, the researchers said.

No patient in the Wegovy group reported a suicide attempt, compared to 14 users of the other drugs, the report said.

Among patients with a history of suicidal thoughts, the risk of recurring suicidal thoughts was 56 percent lower with Wegovy than other weight-loss medicines.

Similar patterns were seen for use of Ozempic compared with other diabetes drugs.

The findings were consistent no matter the patients' sex, age, or ethnicity for both semaglutide types, the researchers found.

Such a study cannot prove that GLP-1 agonists do not increase the risk of suicidal ideation. But the findings may reduce concerns.

The researchers were unable to assess the statistical⁷ significance of differences in actual suicide attempts. The researchers noted⁸ that suicide attempts are "critically different from suicidal ideations."

Pamela Davis is a professor at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Ohio. She was one of the writers of the study. She said the growth in popularity of Ozempic makes it very important "to understand all its potential complications."

Suggestions that the drug may cause suicidal thoughts are not supported by "this very large and diverse population in the U.S.," Davis added.

Words in This Story

obesity — n. fat in a way that is unhealthy

recur³ — v. to happen or appear again

ideation — n. the formation of ideas or concepts

prescribe — v. to officially tell someone to use as a remedy or treatment

consistent — adj. always acting⁹ or behaving in the same way

diverse — adj. different from each other

1 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

2 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

3 recur   

vi.复发，重现，再发生

参考例句：

• Economic crises recur periodically.经济危机周期性地发生。
• Of course,many problems recur at various periods.当然，有许多问题会在不同的时期反复提出。

4 recurring   

adj.往复的，再次发生的

参考例句：

• This kind of problem is recurring often. 这类问题经常发生。
• For our own country, it has been a time for recurring trial. 就我们国家而言，它经过了一个反复考验的时期。

5 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

6 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

7 statistical   

adj.统计的，统计学的

参考例句：

• He showed the price fluctuations in a statistical table.他用统计表显示价格的波动。
• They're making detailed statistical analysis.他们正在做具体的统计分析。

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。