Australian researchers warn that GLP-1 weight loss drugs may increase the risk of scurvy, a rare disease caused by a lack of vitamin C. Historically known as “pirate disease” because sailors often lacked fresh produce during long sea voyages, scurvy can become serious if left untreated, according to a Fox News report.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, symptoms can include anemia, loose teeth that may fall out, bleeding under the skin, easy bruising, swollen legs, rough or scaly skin and dry, brittle hair that frizzes, the report said.
People with scurvy may also experience swollen, bleeding gums and sores that reopen or fail to heal properly.
This condition can develop when the body does not get enough nutrient-rich foods, eventually leading to malnutrition. New research shows that people taking GLP-1 drugs may face an increased risk, Fox News reported.
A systematic review from Australia’s Hunter Medical Research Institute found that although diabetes and obesity drugs are associated with significant weight loss, clinical trials have largely “failed to show what people actually eat while taking them.”
“A reduction in body weight does not automatically mean that a person is well-nourished or healthy,” Clare Collins, Laureate Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at The University of Newcastle, said in a press release. “Nutrition plays a critical role in health and is largely missing from the evidence right now.”
Collins added that the findings raise “great concern about the risk of malnutrition, including macro- and micronutrient deficiencies,” with reports already citing adverse metabolic and nutritional effects, she told Fox News Digital.
Earlier on Wednesday, Reuters reported that among early adopters of Wego’s new diet pill Novo Nordisk, 36% had never used a GLP-1 drug before, according to a new study by health data company Truveta.
Losing body weight does not automatically mean that a person is well-nourished or healthy.
The data also showed that 21.1% of patients who started the new pill had previously taken an injectable version of Wego, while 15.8% switched from Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, another injectable GLP-1 treatment.
Truveta analyzed medical records from 8,762 patients who had evidence of a prescription for the oral drug Wegova, which received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Dec. 22, Reuters reported.
(With input from agencies)