{"id":375902,"date":"2026-04-12T12:51:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T12:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/375902\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T12:51:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T12:51:16","slug":"potential-new-glp-1-side-effects-surfaced-via-ai-analysis-of-reddit-posts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/375902\/","title":{"rendered":"Potential New GLP-1 Side Effects Surfaced via AI Analysis of Reddit Posts"},"content":{"rendered":"

A large-scale analysis of social media posts is offering a fresh look at what people say they\u2019re experiencing in real life while taking a GLP-1 for diabetes<\/a> or obesity<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Using artificial intelligence to scan more than 400,000 Reddit posts, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania documented numerous reports of possible GLP-1 side effects<\/a> that may be underrecognized in clinical trials \u2014 including menstrual changes, fatigue, and temperature sensitivities.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/p>\n

While the findings don\u2019t prove the medications caused these symptoms, the authors say the patterns may warrant further study.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are signals, not conclusions \u2014 but they\u2019re coming directly from patients, unprompted, and that\u2019s worth paying attention to,\u201d says the first author,\u00a0Neil Sehgal<\/a>, a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

But some experts aren\u2019t so sure the findings are worth further study, given the anonymous nature of Reddit posts.<\/p>\n

Study Used AI to Analyze Real-World Patient Reports<\/p>\n

To better understand how people experience GLP-1 drugs outside of clinical trials, researchers used AI to analyze Reddit posts from 2019 to 2025.<\/p>\n

They identified nearly 70,000 users who said they were taking drugs such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) or tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound). About 44 percent of these users reported at least one side effect.<\/p>\n

Many of the most commonly reported symptoms \u2014 including nausea, vomiting, and\u00a0constipation \u2014 mirror what participants report in clinical trials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat shows that the method is picking up a real signal,\u201d said\u00a0Sharath Chandra Guntuku, PhD<\/a>, a coauthor of the study and an assistant professor of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania, in a press release.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/p>\n

Some Symptoms Reported Online Aren\u2019t Commonly Seen in Trials<\/p>\n

Among the symptoms reported online that aren\u2019t commonly documented in GLP-1 trials:<\/p>\n

About 4 percent of users who reported side effects described menstrual changes, including irregular cycles, heavy bleeding, or spotting between periods.About 17 percent of users reported fatigue.Temperature-related complaints, including chills, feeling cold, and hot flashes were each reported by 1 to 4 percent of people.<\/p>\n

The study is interesting as a computer science paper, but the methods and findings don\u2019t stand up to medical scientific scrutiny, says\u00a0Yuval Pinto, MD<\/a>, an obesity and family medicine doctor at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.<\/p>\n

The data comes from an open, anonymous platform, where researchers can\u2019t verify who is posting or whether users are accurately reporting medication use or symptoms, says Dr. Pinto, who wasn\u2019t involved in the study.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere also isn\u2019t a way to know if these posts come from people currently taking GLP-1s, how long they\u2019ve taken them, other coexisting conditions, or even other medications they are taking that could be causing these side effects,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The Findings Should Be Taken With a Grain of Salt<\/p>\n

The findings bring attention to symptoms that aren\u2019t consistently reported in GLP-1 clinical trials, or symptoms that failed to meet the threshold for reporting, wrote the authors. In other words, sometimes trial participants do report a certain symptom, but researchers may conclude it\u2019s not significant because people taking a placebo (dummy treatment) have the same experience.<\/p>\n

For example, fatigue is reported in some GLP-1 trials. One meta-analysis found about 7.5 percent of people taking a GLP-1 reported fatigue \u2014 but so did 5 percent of participants taking a placebo.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s worth pointing out that there is no placebo group for this Reddit study, says Pinto. While a significant number of people taking a GLP-1 who posted experienced fatigue, it\u2019s not clear how many comparable people not taking a GLP-1 would also report that symptom.<\/p>\n

There have been many placebo-controlled trials that have tracked symptoms, and this data has been reliably captured, says Pinto. Across randomized clinical trials of GLP-1 drugs involving thousands of participants, the most common side effects are consistently stomach-related \u2014 including nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and vomiting, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis matches what I see in my practice; people consistently report these GI symptoms, and they rarely report other symptoms,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

When people do experience symptoms outside the norm, it often tends to be unrelated, says Pinto. \u201cPeople tend to attribute symptoms to the most recent thing in their life, even when there isn\u2019t a connection,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Some symptoms or changes may be because of the weight loss, not the GLP-1. \u201cFor example, some women become more fertile after weight loss and get pregnant \u2014 but that\u2019s not a side effect of the GLP-1,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The same goes for\u00a0hair loss<\/a>, he says. \u201cRapid weight loss can cause temporary hair loss, but it\u2019s not directly caused by the medication,\u201d says Pinto.<\/p>\n

What This Means for People Taking GLP-1 Drugs<\/p>\n

Researchers hope their findings will encourage doctors and researchers to take a closer look at the side effects patients are discussing online.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re clearly on patients\u2019 minds, and that\u2019s worth paying attention to,\u201d says Sehgal.<\/p>\n

Pinto agrees that people should feel empowered to talk to their healthcare providers about any symptoms they are experiencing.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour doctor is in the best position to know important factors that could impact symptoms, including your health history, your GLP-1 dosage, how long you\u2019ve been taking it, and other medications you are taking,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A large-scale analysis of social media posts is offering a fresh look at what people say they\u2019re experiencing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375903,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[134,524,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-375902","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-medication","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}