GLP-1 receptor agonist use and mental health outcomes in adolescents with obesity: a retrospective review
- Design
- Case-control · 15 participants · Unknown outcome
- Match to healthy normal-weight adults aged 55–75
- Different population[Auto] Participants had obesity/overweight (age/BMI not reported in abstract).
- Could weight loss explain it?
- Possibly[Auto] Participants had obesity and/or type 2 diabetes and the abstract does not separate direct drug effects from weight loss or glycaemic improvement.
- Study tier
- Study tier 4[Auto] Hypothesis-generating design (auto-provisional).
- Assessment
- Version 1 · automatic, not yet reviewed by a person · Sep 13, 2026
Study facts come from the paper. Population match, weight-loss explanation and study tier are our judgments, made against the reference group of healthy normal-weight adults aged 55–75.
[Auto, unreviewed; quoted from abstract conclusions] In this small, exploratory retrospective review, no evidence of short-term psychological harm or increased suicidality was observed among adolescents receiving GLP-1RA therapy. These findings support the short-term psychosocial safety of GLP-1RA therapy in adolescents with obesity. Larger prospective case-control studies are needed to better characterize psychiatric safety and psychosocial outcomes.
01Findings
What the study reported
- Drugs
- Semaglutide, Liraglutide
- Primary outcome
- Not extracted
- Effect
- Not extracted
- 95% confidence interval
- Not extracted
- Follow-up
- 21 years
- Adverse events
- Not extracted
- Limitations
- Auto-classified from abstract only; effect estimates, adverse events and limitations not extracted. Requires manual review.
Who was studied
- Obesity status
- obesity/overweight present (all or most)
- Sample size
- 15
Study quality details
- Study design
- Case-control
- Sample size
- 15
- Randomization
- no
- Blinding
- not stated
- Comparator
- not stated
- Follow up duration
- 21 years
- Outcome type
- unknown
- Replication
- not assessed (auto)
- Consistency with other evidence
- not assessed (auto)
- Population applicability
- INDIRECT
- Statistical precision
- not extracted
- Risk of bias
- not assessed (auto)
- Funding conflicts
- unclear
- Peer review status
- yes
02Funding
Funding and conflicts
- Funding
- not reported in abstract
- Industry funded
- Unclear
- Manufacturer
- None identified
- Sponsor role
- not reported in abstract
- Author conflicts
- not available in metadata
- Independent replication
- unknown
Funding is shown on every study and never used to score it.
04Source
The source, as retrieved
Abstract
[OBJECTIVES] Adolescent obesity is associated with increased rates of depression and suicidality. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are increasingly used to treat pediatric obesity, yet concerns remain regarding potential psychiatric effects. This study evaluated changes in depressive symptoms and suicidality screening scores among adolescents with obesity treated with GLP-1RAs in a pediatric endocrinology setting. We evaluated changes in depressive symptoms and suicidality following initiation of GLP-1RA therapy in adolescents with obesity. [METHODS] We performed a retrospective chart review of adolescents aged 12-21 years with obesity treated with liraglutide or semaglutide at a single academic center between June 2022 and December 2024. Demographic, clinical, and psychosocial data were extracted from the electronic health record at baseline and follow-up. Depressive symptoms or suicidality were screened at clinic visits per protocol using either the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) or the Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ), respectively. Analyses were restricted to patients with paired baseline and follow-up assessments using the same instrument. Paired nonparametric tests were used for longitudinal comparisons. [RESULTS] Forty-four adolescents met inclusion criteria. Among patients with paired PHQ-9 data (n=15), the median PHQ-9 score decreased significantly from 6 (IQR 2-14) at baseline to 1 (IQR 0-5) at follow-up (p=0.003), independent of changes in BMI. Among patients with paired ASQ data (n=23), no increase in suicidality or new suicidal ideation was observed. [CONCLUSIONS] In this small, exploratory retrospective review, no evidence of short-term psychological harm or increased suicidality was observed among adolescents receiving GLP-1RA therapy. These findings support the short-term psychosocial safety of GLP-1RA therapy in adolescents with obesity. Larger prospective case-control studies are needed to better characterize psychiatric safety and psychosocial outcomes.
Where this record came from
| Source | Retrieved | Identifier |
|---|---|---|
| pubmed | Sep 13, 2026 | 42732089 first ingestion |