Ozempic has been linked to yet another unintended side effect: hair loss.
DailyMail.com first reported on Ozempic causing hair loss in early 2023, after users posted videos online of clumps of hair falling out into the sink.
Now, a new study has backed up those anecdotes.
Scientists tracked nearly 3,000 Americans who used either semaglutide, the active drug in Ozempic and Wegovy, or older weight loss drug bupropion-naltrexone, or Contrave.
Overall, semaglutide users were found to be 52 percent more likely to lose their hair while on the drug compared to those who took the other weight loss drug.
And among women, the risk of hair loss in semaglutide users was double that in the other group.
The overall risks were still pretty low, with around 1 percent of patients reporting hair loss.
Researchers suggested the drug can cause hair to fall out because of the rapid weight loss the drug triggers — at up to 2lbs a week.
They said this puts the body under enormous stress and can disrupt hair’s natural growth cycle, causing many hairs to fall out at once.
An American woman on Mounjaro said on her TikTok her hair was falling out in clumps when she brushed it or showered
It isn’t clear how many Ozempic users are currently suffering from hair loss.
Other weight loss drugs, such as tirzepatide — sold under the brand name Mounjaro — which cause rapid weight loss have also been linked to the side effect.
The information leaflets for Wegovy and Ozempic lists hair loss as a possible side effect.
In the most recent study, which was published as a pre-print online and has not been peer-reviewed, scientists analyzed data on 16million Americans from the US-based healthcare claims database IQVIA PharMetrics Plus for Academics.
Data from 2006 to 2020 was reviewed to find patients who used either semaglutide or Contrave specifically for weight loss.
Patients who had diabetes or used medications to lower their blood sugar were excluded from the analysis.
Bupropion-naltrexone is a weight loss drug that works on the brain to reduce cravings for food, and was first approved by the FDA for use in 2014.
It is given as a tablet, rather than an injection, and in trials led patients to lose about 10 percent of their body-weight in a year.
For comparison, semaglutide, which is approved for diabetes, can trigger the loss of 10 percent of someone’s body-weight in six months.
The study included 1,926 semaglutide patients, of which 23 — or 1.1 percent — reported suffering from hair loss.
Patients in this group were 55 years old on average, while 53 percent were female and five percent were simultaneously taking steroids — which can also cause hair loss.
Patients in this group were also more likely to be depressed and to have hypothyroidism, an over-active thyroid, which can both raise the risk of hair falling out.
Some reports have suggested taking semaglutide may raise the risk of depression, but a major study published last month suggested that the drug could actually boost people’s mental health. And Studies do not suggest semaglutide raises the risk of thyroid problems.
For comparison, in the Contrave group there were 1,348 patients, including 27 — or two percent — who reported suffering from hair loss.
These individuals were 46 years old on average, while 80 percent were female, and six percent were using steroids.
After adjusting for factors including age, sex, location and steroid use, the researchers found those on semaglutide were 52 percent more likely to suffer from hair loss.
The study was carried out on patients who used semaglutide, the drug in Ozempic, and those who used an older class of weight loss drugs
Scientists also suggest semaglutide may cause hair loss because it could lead to a lack of nutrients in the body. This could be caused by eating less and also by side-effects such as vomiting.
The scientists, from the University of British Columbia, said in the study: ‘Our results demonstrate an increased risk of hair loss with semaglutide in women.
‘Future studies are required to ascertain the association between semaglutide and hair loss.’
This isn’t the only unintended side effect of Ozempic, with others including nausea, diarrhea and stomach pain.
About 13 percent of US adults have tried semaglutide at least once, surveys suggest, after it was popularized by Hollywood celebrities for its promise to help someone rapidly lose weight with little more than a weekly injection.
Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, said in a statement that it ‘remains confident in the benefit-risk profile of our GLP-1 medicines, when used consistent with their indications and product labeling.’
