Large study finds early GLP-1 drug use not tied to most pregnancy problems
Among 756,636 Danish pregnancies, premature birth risk rose only when the drugs were prescribed for diabetes, not for weight loss.
A large study using Denmark's nationwide health registries examined 756,636 pregnancies involving a single baby among 480,231 women, with deliveries between October 2009 and December 2023. Researchers looked at women who filled a prescription for semaglutide or liraglutide in the eight weeks before or after the first day of their last menstrual period.
Women who unintentionally used these drugs shortly before or during early pregnancy were more likely to give birth prematurely, but only when the drugs had been prescribed for existing diabetes. Among women using the same drugs for weight management, the researchers found no significant link to premature birth or the other complications studied, including pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, stillbirth and placental problems.
The study was led by Professor Henriette Svarre Nielsen of Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre and was published in Human Reproduction Open. The researchers suggested diabetes itself, rather than the medication, may explain the higher early delivery risk. Current guidance says the drugs should be stopped eight weeks before planning a pregnancy, but the authors noted that advice rests on early laboratory studies rather than real-world data.
Key points
- Study covered 756,636 pregnancies in Denmark from 2009 to 2023.
- Premature birth risk was higher only when the drugs were used for diabetes.
- No significant link found for weight-management use.
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Summarized with AI from the sources above and reviewed before publishing.
