TDA has been investigating the side effects of weight-loss medications like Ozempic for a new podcast series.
Negative side effects associated with the use of these drugs are tracked by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).
Suicidal ideation makes up one in every 20 reports to the TGA database related to weight-loss medications.
However, Australian prescribers maintain there is no major known risk of suicidal ideation as a side effect of these weight-loss medications.
So, what’s going on?
Background
Ozempic is the brand name of an injectable medication, originally developed to treat diabetes. It’s a ‘semaglutide’ and belongs to a family of drugs called GLP-1s.
Dr Michael Bonning from the Australian Medical Association said GLP-1s “slow gastric emptying, so you feel fuller, faster... You ended up with people losing significant amounts of weight.“
He told TDA that side effect means “these drugs have become increasingly popular for an indication that they weren't originally put on the market for.”
Side effects
Common side effects associated with popular GLP-1s like Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea — but many users reported more serious side effects in a callout to TDA’s Instagram.
Examples include gastrointestinal issues and multiple reports of emergency gallbladder removal surgeries.
Several GLP-1 users also reported severe mental health side effects, including Mackenzie, who told TDA she was hospitalised weeks after starting Ozempic.
“For no reason whatsoever... I became suicidal, unable to work… It was really quite unexplained and I was really, really concerned,” Mackenzie said.
The 26-year-old’s GP told her he’d seen an uptick in patients reporting the same side effect. He concluded that the Ozempic may have interfered with Mackenzie’s long-term antidepressant medication.
“[Ozempic] slows the digestive system, which then can have negative effects on absorption,” her doctor told her.
“I was in such a bad place he suggested I go to hospital [and] stop taking Ozempic immediately,” Mackenzie said.
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Tracker
When patients have a negative reaction to a medication, their GP or healthcare provider can report it to the TGA’s Database of Adverse Event Notifications (DAEN).
TDA analysed reports related to the use of GLP-1s (including Ozempic) between January 2023 and January 2025.
Pancreatitis made up around one in four adverse side effects reported to the DAEN in that time. Treatment of acute pancreatitis typically requires hospital care.
One in five reports to the DAEN related to accidental overdose or the inappropriate use of GLP-1s, including drugs not yet approved by the TGA.
TDA’s analysis also found that suicidal ideation made up one in every 20 adverse GLP-1 reactions reported to the database.
The TGA says it uses adverse event reports “to identify when a safety issue may be present,” but that assessing the safety of a medicine “cannot be made” using its tracker alone.
Deaths
There were three reports of attempted suicide, and separately, two deaths by suicide associated with the use of GLP-1s in the two years to January 2025.
Ozempic was the only product “suspected to be related” to both deaths.
There were also four Ozempic-related poisoning deaths due to misuse, overdose or accident during this period.
However, this does not mean the TGA has determined these deaths are related to GLP-1s.
Studies
Mackenzie (who became suicidal after starting Ozempic) went through telehealth platform Juniper. The provider maintains there’s no major known risk of suicidal ideation as a side effect of GLP-1s.
Juniper cited 2024 guidance from the UK health regulator to TDA, which said: “The available data does not support a causal association between [GLP-1s] and suicide, suicidal ideation... and depression”.
However, recent analysis of adverse reactions within the World Health Organization’s global database identified a “disproportionate link” between suicidal ideation and semaglutides.
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