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Regaining weight after diet medication linked to 4-fold rise in suicidal thoughts: study
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By Park Ung
People who have taken weight-loss medication and regained weight afterward were more than four times as likely to have suicidal thoughts, highlighting mental health concerns tied to the medications.
According to a study by a research team at Asan Medical Center on Sunday, people who took weight-loss medication were 1.9 times more likely to experience depression and 2.7 times as likely to have suicidal thoughts than those who had not.
The team analyzed data on 27,741 adults, including 10,908 men and 16,833 women, drawn from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between 2013 and 2022.
The team divided the group into 846 who had taken medication prescribed by a doctor for weight control in the past year and 26,895 who had not. The study did not distinguish between types of medication.
Among medication users, 22.1 percent experienced depressive feelings for two or more consecutive weeks, compared with 11.4 percent of non-users. Mental health counseling was sought by 8.4 percent of medication users, compared with 3.4 percent of non-users.
A similar gap appeared on suicide-related measures. Over the past year, 9.9 percent of medication users reported suicidal thoughts, compared with 4.5 percent of non-users.
Suicide plans were made by 2.2 percent of medication users, compared with 1.4 percent of non-users, and suicide attempts were reported by 1.7 percent, compared with 0.6 percent for non-users.
Among those who regained weight after taking the medication, the odds of having suicidal thoughts stood out most, at 4.2 times higher than non-users. They were also 1.9 times more likely to experience depression and 1.8 times more likely to seek mental health counseling.
The research team said the rise in depression and suicide-related indicators tied to weight regain may reflect not only the drugs' neuropsychiatric effects, but also psychological and social factors tied to failed weight control.
When people fail to lose as much weight as expected, or regain weight after treatment, their dissatisfaction with their appearance and psychological frustration may deepen, the team added.
If you or someone you know may be at risk of suicide, contact Korea's Suicide Crisis hotline at 109. For foreign language assistance with emergency services, call the 1330 Korea Travel Hotline, or call Danuri Portal's helpline at 1577-1366 to connect with multilingual counseling and referral services.