Hormonal
Semaglutide (SEM) is the most popularly searched GLP-1 receptor agonist for weight loss, yet it exhibits the lowest proportion of severe adverse drug reactions (ADRs) compared to other GLP-1 RAs, despite having the highest absolute number of spontaneous safety reports.
Semaglutide is the most searched GLP-1 for weight loss, leading to high prescription volumes and consequently the highest number of adverse event reports. However, data shows it actually has the lowest rate of severe adverse reactions compared to other GLP-1 drugs. The high volume of reports is likely due to its popularity and off-label use driven by social media, rather than inherent high severity. Users should be aware that off-label use increases risks like overdose and should be monitored by a healthcare professional.
SEM had the highest proportions of searches on Google associated with the term “weight loss” and presented the lowest number of severe ADRs, but it also had the highest number of ICSRs reported in EV.
Why this rating
Real-world data from EudraVigilance is observational and subject to reporting bias, though the sample size is large.
Source
An Assessment of Semaglutide Safety Based on Real World Data: From Popularity to Spontaneous Reporting in EudraVigilance Database
Anca Butucă et al. · Biomedicines · 2024
DOI 10.3390/biomedicines12051124
Related findings · Hormonal
- Initial treatment for type 2 diabetes should be a combination of metformin and either an SGLT-2 inhibitor or a GLP-1 receptor agonist to achieve cardiorenal protection, rather than monotherapy or older agents like sulfonylureas.Strong
- For patients with specific monogenic obesity syndromes (leptin deficiency, POMC/PCSK1/LEPR mutations), targeted pharmacotherapy (recombinant leptin or setmelanotide) is highly effective and should be prioritized, unlike in polygenic obesity.Strong
- Continued weekly administration of 2.4 mg subcutaneous semaglutide prevents weight regain and promotes further weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity, whereas switching to placebo results in significant weight regain.Strong
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