Journal of psychiatric researchFeb 16, 2025

Glucagon-like Peptide-1 receptor agonists and their relationship with suicidal thoughts and behaviors: A systematic review

GLP-1 Therapies Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Jan 20, 2026

Abstract

22 studies indicate that Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) may be associated with an elevated risk of suicidality.

Pharmacovigilance studies suggest semaglutide and liraglutide are associated with higher reports of suicide ideation.
Cohort studies do not consistently show an increase in any aspect of suicidality linked to GLP-1 RAs.
Some cohort studies indicate that certain GLP-1 RAs may be associated with decreased suicide ideation and attempts.
There is inadequate information to confirm a causal relationship between GLP-1 RAs and suicidality.
Ongoing monitoring and additional data are necessary to determine the potential for causality.

Simplified

Reports submitted to the FDA and EMA suggest that Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RAs) may be associated with an elevated risk of suicidality. To ascertain this association across available pharmacovigilance and cohort studies, Pubmed, Medline, Cochrane Library, PsychInfo, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched from database inception to November 20, 2024 in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. A manual search using Google Scholar was also conducted to identify additional studies. Cohort studies were assessed for quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We endeavored to define and operationalize suicidality as suicide ideation (SI), suicide attempts (SA), and suicide completion (SC), in cases where study authors failed to separate these three dimensions, the term "suicidality" was applied. 22 studies meeting inclusion criteria comprised of pharmacovigilance (n = 10) and cohort studies (n = 12) were identified. Pharmacovigilance studies indicate that semaglutide and liraglutide are associated with disproportionate reporting of SI. Results from cohort studies indicate that GLP-1 RAs are not consistently associated with an increase in any aspect of suicidality; instead, some agents are associated with decreased SI and SA. There is inadequate information to ascertain whether causality exists linking GLP-1 RAs to suicidality. Ongoing vigilance and further information is required to inform if the possibility of causality exists. Practitioners prescribing GLP-1 RAs should be vigilant for the possibility of the emergence of SI and be aware of the higher risk of mental illness in persons who would be candidates for GLP-1 RAs (e.g. Type 2 Diabetes, obesity).

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View Full Text ↗

Funding

Competing interests

Declaration of competing interest Roger S. McIntyre has received research grant support from CIHR/GACD/National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) and the Milken Institute; speaker/consultation fees from Lundbeck, Janssen, Alkermes, Neumora Therapeutics, Boehringer Ingelheim, Sage, Biogen, Mitsubishi Tanabe, Purdue, Pfizer, Otsuka, Takeda, Neurocrine, Sunovion, Bausch Health, Axsome, Novo Nordisk, Kris, Sanofi, Eisai, Intra-Cellular, NewBridge Pharmaceuticals, Viatris, Abbvie, Atai Life Sciences. Dr. Roger McIntyre is a CEO of Braxia Scientific Corp. Dr. Joshua D Rosenblat has received research grant support from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR), Physician Services Inc (PSI) Foundation, Labatt Brain Health Network, Brain and Cognition Discovery Foundation (BCDF), Canadian Cancer Society, Canadian Psychiatric Association, Academic Scholars Award, American Psychiatric Association, American Society of Psychopharmacology, University of Toronto, University Health Network Centre for Mental Health, Joseph M. West Family Memorial Fund and Timeposters Fellowship and industry funding for speaker/consultation/research fees from iGan, Boehringer Ingelheim, Braxia Health (Canadian Rapid Treatment Centre of Excellence), Braxia Scientific, Janssen, Allergan, Lundbeck, Sunovion and COMPASS. Kayla M. Teopiz has received fees from Braxia Scientific Corp.

PubMed

Glucagon-like Peptide-1 receptor agonists and their relationship with suicidal thoughts and behaviors: A systematic review

Abstract

Full Text

Funding

Competing interests

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

What Lands in Your Inbox Each Week:

Recent issues from the glp-1 therapies brief

Abstract

Full Text

Funding

Competing interests

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

What Lands in Your Inbox Each Week:

Recent issues from the glp-1 therapies brief