Use of Liraglutide (Victoza, Saxenda) & Semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) Comes with Risk of Gastrointestinal Disorders

Use of Liraglutide (Victoza, Saxenda) & Semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) Tied to Increased Risk for Pancreatitis and Bowel Obstruction

A new study showed that use of the GLP1 agonist medications approved for diabetes and weight loss including liraglutide (Victoza, Saxenda) & semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) come with a 9X increased risk of pancreatitis, 4X increased risk of bowel obstruction and 3.5X increased risk of gastroparesis compared to controls.

Pancreatitis and bowel obstruction are potentially very serious medical issues. Mild cases of pancreatitis have a low mortality rate. Severe pancreatitis comes with a 10-25 % risk of death. Small bowel obstruction is associated with a 5-10 % risk of death again depending on severity.

This is important information for hair specialists to be aware of so that we can help patients with hair loss who may also develop side effects from other treatments they are using. For example, consider a patient with androgenetic alopecia who uses oral minoxidil and also uses a GLP-1 agonist for weight loss. Suppose the patient has new onset severe abdominal pain. The patient may be having the pain from a variety of reasons. Oral minoxidil would be much, much less likely than the GLP1 agonist medications. Of course, proper assessment would be needed to rule out all possible medication and non medication related causes (numbering about 50). But pancreatitis, bowel obstruction and gastroparesis from a GLP-1 agonist weight loss drug is most certainly on the list.

Reference

Sodhi et al. Risk of Gastrointestinal Adverse Events Associated With Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists for Weight Loss. JAMA Oct 2023.