Despite previous concerns, findings provide reassurance about the psychiatric safety of these drugs, say researchers from the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (LDI)
Use of GLP-1 receptor agonists, which include Ozempic®, Rybelsus® and other widely-used drugs, to treat type 2 diabetes is not associated with an increased risk of suicidality compared with two other groups of diabetes drugs known as DPP-4 inhibitors and SGLT-2 inhibitors, finds a large study of UK health data. The study led by Professor Laurent Azoulay, Senior investigator in the Centre for Clinical Epidemiology of the LDI and first author Samantha B. Shapiro, a doctoral student in Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health at McGill University working in Pr. Azoulay’s laboratory, was published by The BMJ on February 26.
Shapiro SB, Yin H, Yu OHY, Rej S, Suissa S, Azoulay L. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and risk of suicidality among patients with type 2 diabetes: active comparator, new user cohort study. BMJ 2025;388:e080679. doi:10.1136/bmj-2024-080679.
