Data on weight loss jab link to suicidal thoughts needs ‘urgent clarification’

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Data that suggests a weight loss jab may be linked to people having suicidal thoughts needs urgent clarification, experts have said. Writing in the journal, corresponding author Georgios Schoretsanitis, from Zucker Hillside Hospital, USA, and colleagues, said: “This study using the WHO database found a signal of semaglutide-associated suicidal ideation, which warrants urgent clarification.” There were 30,527 adverse drug reactions to semaglutide reported to the WHO database between November 2000 and August 2023. “There are other grounds, based on previous evidence and with other drugs, for being cautious in the use of semaglutide, and being aware of patients’ mental health when prescribing it is sensible, even though semaglutide itself seems not to increase mental health problems.” Other experts suggest the research may be mixing up the effects of the weight loss jab, with the overall negative mental health consequences of weight loss potentially not bringing happiness for people who may expect it to. “We need to understand whether these results represent a specific side-effect of these drugs, or an uncommon but tragic consequence of some individuals’ weight loss journey.” The study used data from a large WHO database, called VigiBase, of reports of adverse reactions to drugs from 140 countries.