People taking Wegovy and Ozempic have lower risk of suicidal thoughts vs. older drugs, study finds

By JONEL ALECCIA
AP Health Writer

A new federal study finds that people taking popular diabetes and obesity drugs Ozempic and Wegovy had a lower risk of suicidal thoughts than those taking other medications to treat the same conditions. Researchers reviewed electronic medical records for about 1.8 million patients between 2017 and 2022. People taking the drug, called semaglutide, had a 49% to 73% lower risk of first-time or recurring suicidal thoughts than those taking another drug to treat diabetes or obesity. Regulators in Europe and the U.S. have been looking into anecdotal reports that some patients taking semaglutide had thoughts of suicide.