Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Abstract Background Semaglutide is a medication used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity, belonging to a class of drugs known as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists 1. GLP-1 is a hormone released in the intestine during the digestion of food helping to regulate blood sugar levels by stimulating the release of insulin. Semaglutide mimics the actions of GLP-1, leading to increased insulin release and decreased glucagon release, which in turn helps lower blood sugar levels, reducing appetite and food intake, leading to weight loss 2. Moreover, recent media reports commented about a possible issue of the misuse of antidiabetics related to molecules promoted as a weight-loss treatment in non-obese people 3-5, issue facilitated by the putative acquisition of medications from rogue websites. Aims overall, most reports came from the US and involved female adults. Drug misuse-, abuse-, and withdrawal-related AERs were most typically reported for semaglutide compared with the other selected GLP-1 analogues. Specifically, ‘drug abuse’, ‘drug withdrawal syndrome’, and ‘prescription drug used without a prescription’ were reported 3.50 times as frequently (e.g., PRR values were 4.05, 4.05, and 3.60, respectively; FDR 0.01), and ‘intentional product use issue’ was reported almost two times as frequently (PRR = 1.80; FDR 0.01). Discussion 10:316–321. doi: 10.1016/j.ando.2022.12.423. 2Neuville M.F., Paquot N., Scheen A.J. A new era for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists. Rev. Med. Liege. 2023;78:40–45. 3Alvarez-Mon M.A., Llavero-Valero M., Asunsolo del Barco A., Zaragozá C., Ortega M.A., Lahera G., Quintero J., Alvarez-Mon M. Areas of Interest and Attitudes Toward Antiobesity Drugs: Thematic and Quantitative Analysis Using Twitter. J. Med. Internet Res. 2021;23:e24336. doi: 10.2196/24336 4The Guardian. 2023. (accessed on 3 October 2023). Available online: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/06/tga-investigates-influencers-after- diabetes-drug-ozempic-promoted-as-weight-loss-treatment 5Valdesolo F. What You Need to Know About Ozempic: The Diabetes Drug Fuelling Hollywood’ s Harmful Weight-Loss Obsession. 10 February 2023. (accessed on 3 October 2023]. Available online: https://www.vogue.co.uk/beauty/article/what-is-ozempic
Chiappini et al. (Sat,) studied this question.