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Pharmacovigilance study of GLP-1 receptor agonists for metabolic and nutritional adverse events.

Front Pharmacol · 2024

Last updated 2026-05-28

A study analyzed reports of metabolic and nutritional side effects linked to different GLP-1 drugs using a U.S. database. Semaglutide, liraglutide, and exenatide were more likely to be associated with these side effects than other drugs in the class. Dehydration was the most common serious side effect reported for liraglutide, dulaglutide, semaglutide, and tirzepatide, with 20.9% to 32.9% of dehydration cases leading to serious outcomes.

AI summary of the abstract below.

JournalFront Pharmacol, 2024
Citations25
Relative citation ratio4.93
NIH percentile92
Molecules
Conditions studied Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity, Cardiovascular Risk Reduction, Chronic Kidney Disease, Mash, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Pcos, Heart Failure

Abstract

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are employed extensively in the management of type 2 diabetes and obesity. However, there is a paucity of real-world data on their safety and tolerability for metabolic and nutritional adverse events in large sample populations. This study aimed to analyse the metabolic and nutritional safety signatures of different GLP-1 RAs by exploring the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). AEs data were extracted from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System database for each GLP-1 RA from the time of its launch until the second quarter of 2023. The reported odds ratio (ROR), proportional reporting ratio (PRR), Empirical Bayesian Geometric Mean and Bayesian Confidence Propagation Neural Network were employed to identify AE signals. A system organ class of metabolism and nutrition disorders was employed to filter AE reports, resulting in the identification of 10,450 reports for exenatide, 2,860 reports for liraglutide, 240 reports for albiglutide, 4,847 reports for dulaglutide, 2,905 reports for semaglutide, 1,089 reports for tirzepatide, and 13 reports for lixisenatide. Semaglutide (ROR, 3.34; 95%CI, 3.22), liraglutide (ROR, 2.78; 95%CI, 2.69), and exenatide (ROR, 2.15; 95%CI, 2.11) were associated with metabolism and nutrition disorders. The number of AE signals detected were as follows: albiglutide (n = 1), lixisenatide (n = 2), tirzepatide (n = 11), exenatide (n = 12), liraglutide (n = 16), semaglutide (n = 20), dulaglutide (n = 22). Dehydration was the most frequent AE contributing to serious outcomes for liraglutide (n = 318, 23.93%), dulaglutide (n = 434, 20.90%), semaglutide (n = 370, 25.10%) and tirzepatide (n = 70, 32.86%). The time to onset (TTO) of AE was statistically different between exenatide and the other GLP-1 RAs ( < 0.001), and the Weibull parameters for dehydration for liraglutide, dulaglutide, and semaglutide analyses all showed an early failure-type profile. Our study suggests that exenatide, liraglutide, and semaglutide are more susceptible to metabolic and nutritional AEs than other GLP-1 RAs. Liraglutide, dulaglutide, semaglutide, and tirzepaptide's potential to induce dehydration, necessitates special attention. Despite certain deficiencies, GLP-1 RAs have considerable potential for the treatment of eating disorders.

Verbatim abstract via PubMed 39040467 ↗