THURSDAY, April 16, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Social media posts about glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists may identify patient concerns not captured in clinical trials, according to a study published online April 10 in Nature Health.
Neil K.R. Sehgal, from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues analyzed 410,198 Reddit posts (May 2019 to June 2025) mentioning semaglutide or tirzepatide to assess patient-reported experiences.
The researchers identified 67,008 self-reported users of whom 43.5 percent described at least one side effect. The most common side effects were gastrointestinal symptoms, including nausea (36.9 percent), fatigue (16.7 percent), vomiting (16.3 percent), constipation (15.3 percent), and diarrhea (12.6 percent). Unrecognized potential effects were also identified, including reproductive symptoms (e.g., menstrual irregularities) and temperature-related complaints (e.g., chills and hot flushes).
"Clinical trials generally identify the most dangerous side effects of drugs," coauthor Lyle Ungar, also from the University of Pennsylvania, said in a statement. "But they can fail to find what symptoms patients are most concerned about; even though social media is not necessarily representative, a large collection of posts may reflect additional concerns."
One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.