LONDON (dpa-AFX) - More than 150 deaths have been reported in connection with weight loss injections, according to figures from the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). It also revealed that patients using weight loss medicines have made around 150,000 reports of possible side effects and other adverse reactions.
The data were collected from the MHRA's Yellow Card scheme, which allows patients, relatives and medics to report side effects of medication.
Notably, the reports cover GLP-1 medicines available through the NHS, including liraglutide, sold as Saxenda; semaglutide, sold as Wegovy; and tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro.
The findings showed 106,189 adverse reaction reports and 120 deaths suspected of being linked to tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro. Meanwhile, semaglutide was linked to 48,089 reported adverse reactions and 59 deaths. Semaglutide is used in the weight loss drug Wegovy and is also the active ingredient in the diabetes medicines Ozempic and Rybelsus. Liraglutide, sold as Saxenda, was linked to 4,491 reported adverse reactions and 37 deaths. It is also used to treat diabetes under other brand names.
The Yellow Card data also showed the types of side effects reported. For semaglutide, 28,884 reports involved digestive problems, while more than 5,000 involved disorders affecting the nervous system. Tirzepatide had 65,024 reports of digestive problems and 13,964 reports involving the nervous system. More than 2,000 reports involved psychiatric disorders. For liraglutide, 1,461 reports involved digestive problems.
Common side effects of weight loss injections include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation and acid reflux. In some cases, these medicines have also been linked to heart and blood vessel problems, nervous system disorders, eye problems and more serious digestive conditions, some of which have resulted in deaths.
The MHRA stressed that reports made through the Yellow Card scheme do not prove that a medicine caused a side effect or death. They only show that the person reporting the case suspected a possible link.
'As with all medicines, the safety of GLP-1's are kept under continual review including emerging evidence from spontaneous data and scientific publications. Any potential updates regarding the safety for these medicines would be promptly communicated to patients and healthcare professionals, and appropriate steps taken to mitigate any identified risk,' an MHRA spokesperson commented, The Independent reports.
'On the basis of the current evidence, the benefits of GLP-1 receptor agonists outweigh the potential risks when used in line with their authorised uses.'
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