This story discusses suicide.If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).Adults who reported using prescription weight-loss medication in the last year had higher rates of depression, mental-health counseling, suicidal thoughts and suicide-related behaviors compared to people who did not take the drugs, according to an observational study.The research, conducted at Asan Medical Center in South Korea, analyzed data from 27,741 adults (10,908 men and 16,833 women).Of these participants, 846 had been taking prescription medications for weight control during the previous year, while 26,895 did not take them.OZEMPIC USERS MAY BE MAKING A MAJOR WEIGHT-LOSS MISTAKE, NEW STUDY SUGGESTSThe weight-loss drug users were 1.9 times more likely to experience depression and twice as likely to seek mental health counseling.They were also 2.7 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts and 1.7 times more likely to make a suicide attempt.Adults who reported using prescription weight-loss medication in the last year had higher rates of depression, mental-health counseling, suicidal thoughts and suicide-related behaviors compared to people who did not take the drugs, according to an observational study.
(iStock)The associations were stronger among those using the medications who gained or regained weight."The tendency for depression and suicide-related indicators to increase as weight rebounds after using weight-loss drugs may reflect not only the neuropsychiatric effects of the drugs themselves, but also a complex interplay of psychological and social factors associated with failed weight control," the research team wrote in the study.PATIENTS TAKING WEIGHT-LOSS DRUGS OFTEN MAKE 5 CRITICAL MISTAKES, DOCTOR WARNSThe findings were published in the Korean Journal of Family Practice on Aug.23.Bonnie Mitchell, a licensed professional clinical counselor in California, noted that this was an obser...