Self-Reported Side Effects of Semaglutide and Tirzepatide in Online Communities

2026-03-12

AI Summary

Traditional clinical trials struggle to comprehensively capture the adverse effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) in real-world settings. This study leverages natural language processing to systematically analyze over 410,000 Reddit posts from May 2019 to June 2025 that mention semaglutide or tirzepatide, identifying self-reported adverse events among 67,008 users who disclosed their medication use. The findings reveal that 43.5% of users reported at least one adverse reaction, predominantly gastrointestinal symptoms. Notably, the study uncovers novel signals—including menstrual disturbances, chills, and hot flashes—related to reproductive health and thermoregulation that are insufficiently documented in current drug labeling. These results provide new real-world evidence to enhance pharmacovigilance for GLP-1 RAs.

Technology Category

• Multiagent Systems: Adversarial Agents
• Natural Language Processing: Language Grounding & Multi-modal NLP
• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science

Application Category

• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Ad search and search for Web retail
• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• Responsible Web: Data and user privacy-enhancing technologies for the Web

Abstract

Social media can reveal patient experiences with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) that extend beyond clinical trial data. We analyzed 410,198 Reddit posts (May 2019-June 2025) mentioning semaglutide or tirzepatide. A total of 67,008 users self-reported using these medications, and 43.5% described at least one side effect. Gastrointestinal symptoms predominated, including nausea (36.9%), fatigue (16.7%), vomiting (16.3%), constipation (15.3%), and diarrhea (12.6%). Notably, reproductive symptoms (e.g., menstrual irregularities) and temperature-related complaints (e.g., chills, hot flashes) emerged as unrecognized potential effects. These findings highlight patient concerns not well captured in current labeling or trials. Large-scale social media analysis can complement traditional pharmacovigilance by detecting emerging safety signals and expanding understanding of the real-world safety profile of GLP-1 RAs.

Problem

• semaglutide
• tirzepatide
• side effects
• pharmacovigilance
• GLP-1 receptor agonists

Innovation

• social media mining
• pharmacovigilance
• GLP-1 receptor agonists
• real-world evidence
• adverse drug reactions