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[00:00.70] Researchers compared nearly 53,000 Wegovy patients to the same number of closely matched users of other weight-loss drugs.

[00:12.12] They found that during the first six months of use, first-time suicidal thoughts were reported by 0.11 percent of Wegovy users.

[00:24.08] That is compared to 0.43 percent of users of other drugs that do not belong to the same class as semaglutide.

[00:34.98] After taking other risk factors into consideration, the risk of first-time suicidal thoughts was 73 percent lower with Wegovy, the researchers said.

[00:48.51] No patient in the Wegovy group reported a suicide attempt, compared to 14 users of the other drugs, the report said.

[00:59.14] 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.

[01:13.75] Similar patterns were seen for use of Ozempic compared with other diabetes drugs.

[01:21.45] The findings were consistent no matter the patients’ sex, age, or ethnicity for both semaglutide types, the researchers found.

[01:32.87] Such a study cannot prove that GLP-1 agonists do not increase the risk of suicidal ideation.

[01:41.64] But the findings may reduce concerns.

[01:45.89] The researchers were unable to assess the statistical significance of differences in actual suicide attempts.

[01:54.92] The researchers noted that suicide attempts are "critically different from suicidal ideations."

[02:03.69] Pamela Davis is a professor at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Ohio.

[02:11.39] She was one of the writers of the study.

[02:15.11] She said the growth in popularity of Ozempic makes it very important “to understand all its potential complications.”

[02:24.94] Suggestions that the drug may cause suicidal thoughts are not supported by “this very large and diverse population in the U.S.,” Davis added.