GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Gastrointestinal Adverse Events

To the Editor A recent Research Letter examined the risk of gastrointestinal adverse events associated with use of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists for weight loss. The authors reported a 9-fold increase in the risk of pancreatitis (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 9.09; 95% CI, 1.25-66.00), a 4-fold increase in bowel obstruction (adjusted HR, 4.22; 95% CI, 1.02-17.40), a 3-fold increase in gastroparesis (adjusted HR, 3.67; 95% CI, 1.15-11.90), and a numerical increase in biliary disease (adjusted HR, 1.50; 95% CI, 0.89-2.53). Such extreme findings raise clinical concerns that may not be justified in view of several methodological challenges.
Source: JAMA - Category: General Medicine Source Type: research