Drugs to lose weight, including Wagovy (Semaglutida) and Mounjaro (Tirzepatida), are becoming increasingly popular among those who try to lose weight.
But an increase in the so -called “Ozempic Babies” has led to the United Kingdom medicines regulator to issue guidance on their use by women of reproductive age.
The guide occurs after the agency received 40 reports from unwanted pregnancies from women who had been using a weight loss medication. Of particular note is the effect that these medications can have on the effectiveness of oral contraceptives.
Weight loss blows (including semaglutida and tirzepatido) act imitating the Natural Hormone LPG-1, which is released from the intestine after we eat.
One of the things this hormone helps to do is suppress appetite. Tirzepatida also acts on another natural hormonal system called GIP, also known for suppressing appetite.
The mechanism through which these medications impact appetite is multifaceted. First, they inhibit the regions of the brain associated with hunger. This suppresses the increase in appetite that occurs when people lose weight. GLP-1 drugs also slow down the speed with which the food leaves the stomach.
There is currently very little published literature that has investigated the interactions between GLP-1 drugs and oral contraceptives. However, the effect that these medications have on the emptying of the stomach seems to explain at least in part why the oral contraceptive pill may not work as well as expected.
A 2024 study showed that the tirzepatido reduced the amount of ethinilestradiol (a synthetic form of estrogen, which is a component of the combined oral contraceptive pill) in the blood torrent by 20 percent. It also increased the amount of time that took ethinilestradiol in being completely absorbed in the bloodstream in two or four hours.
This reduced absorption hinders the ability of the medication to suppress the action of the reproductive system in women. This will affect its contraceptive effects. In particular, the effects of the semaglutida on the absorption of ethinilestradiol were less pronounced.
The greatest period of time that the contraceptive took to be completely absorbed is probably a consequence of reduced gastric emptying since ethinilestradiol is mainly absorbed in the thin intestine. The reasons why these effects were more pronounced in the tirzepatido compared to the semaglutida still are not clear. However, a study showed that while both medications affect gastric emptying in a similar degree, these effects are much more durable with tirzepatido.
Other possible factors
Two side effects of commonly observed GLP-1 drugs include vomiting and diarrhea, which affect 12 percent and 23 percent of patients who take the tirzepate respectively. Vomiting and diarrhea have the potential to interfere with the absorption of all types of oral medications, including contraceptives.
This is because drugs can be expelled from the body before having the opportunity to be absorbed by the bloodstream. People who take the contraceptive pill that use a backup contraceptive for this reason are recommended whether they vomit or have diarrhea to avoid unwanted pregnancy.
Another factor that could explain the link between the use of GLP-1 drugs and unwanted pregnancy could be the effect that weight loss in general has on fertility.
Obesity has long been associated with reduced fertility. Obesity can also exacerbate other conditions that affect fertility, such as polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormonal disorder that affects how ovaries work.
It is likely that the weight loss associated with the taking of medicines GLP-1 leads to an increase in fertility. This in turn could make women more likely to get pregnant, regardless of whether they are using oral contraceptives or not.
Until now, it does not seem that other forms of contraceptives are affected by the weight loss of LPG-1 weight loss. It is unlikely that non -oral contraceptives, such as intrauterine devices (IUD), transdermal patches and implants, are affected since their active ingredients are absorbed in the bloodstream regardless of the gastrointestinal tract. Similarly, physical barriers such as condoms and copper IUD are not affected either.
But women who use an oral contraceptive are recommended to use an additional form of non -oral contraception (such as condoms) for four weeks after starting semaglutida or tirzepatida. This is when side effects are usually at its highest point.
Due to the lack of evidence around the safety of these medications during pregnancy, pregnant women are advised while using a weight to lose weight that they talk to their doctor to find alternative medications.
Simon Cork is a professor of Physiology at the University of Anglia Ruskin. This article is published again from the conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the Original article
