A new study found that calls to poison control centers involving popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs climbed sharply after semaglutide was approved for obesity in 2021, with most cases linked to medication mistakes that could have been avoided.
As the use of GLP-1 medications for weight loss surges, so do calls to U.S. poison control centers, according to a new study.
Researchers analyzed reports involving GLP-1 drugs submitted to the National Poison Data System before and after the FDA approved semaglutide for the treatment of obesity in 2021.
Prior to approval, the centers recorded roughly 1,000 to 1,500 cases annually.
After mid-2021, call volumes nearly doubled. And by 2023, poison centers logged more than 8,000 GLP-1–related calls.
When researchers examined the increase by specific medication, semaglutide accounted for 64% of all GLP-1-related calls, according to the results.
One researcher called its dominance “staggering,” though she noted that the finding aligns with the drug's extensive media attention.
Most of the cases resulted from unintentional dosing or therapeutic errors rather than deliberate misuse.
Two of the most common mistakes were patients injecting semaglutide daily instead of weekly and patients starting at the full dose immediately rather than gradually increasing treatment as recommended.
The majority of cases involved mild gastrointestinal symptoms.
However, the proportion of patients referred to a health care facility increased from 23.0% to 33.5% over the study period.
The authors say many of these errors were preventable and could be reduced through better patient education.
Source: Journal of Medical Toxicology
Author Affiliations: UT San Antonio
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