AI scans 400,000 Reddit posts to flag overlooked GLP-1 side effects

[Mr.Tired]

I like that they're doing stuff like this, and also that they are quick to acknowledge the limitations.

Now they should do it with forums like this and all the other peptides.

"The researchers caution that their findings are not causal. "We can't say that GLP-1s are actually causing these symptoms," notes Neil Sehgal, the study's first author and a doctoral student in CIS advised by Guntuku and Ungar.

"But nearly 4% of the Reddit users in our sample reported menstrual irregularities, which would be even higher in a female-only sample. We think that's a signal worth investigating.""

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ai-scans-reddit-flag-overlooked.html

 

[UpDownLeftRightAS*]

Very interesting, but not a controlled study (or product). I see the intent, easy indicators that could be added to watch with future phased trials.

 

[GTS97]

Very interesting, but not a controlled study (or product). I see the intent, easy indicators that could be added to watch with future phased trials.

While you are correct about the fact that individual and uncontrolled anecdotes are not “official study” quality, they are still helpful in the grand scheme of things.

With the aggregated data, official researchers could then study those anecdotes more closely — looking for things they may otherwise would not have before.

 

[5byfive]

I think its a great use of the technology. There is a signal there that should be followed up on, but there is a ton of noise. The issue with that specific one is that the people that are having issues, by definition, are the only ones to complain. No one is logging on to post that there has been no change to their cycle since starting GLPs. So 4% is likely a lot less than 4%.

 

[Enyola]

I think its a great use of the technology. There is a signal there that should be followed up on, but there is a ton of noise. The issue with that specific one is that the people that are having issues, by definition, are the only ones to complain. No one is logging on to post that there has been no change to their cycle since starting GLPs. So 4% is likely a lot less than 4%.

The question is: 4% of what? Of all users?
No! Here it says:

Nearly 4% of users who reported side effects described reproductive symptoms, including menstrual changes such as intermenstrual bleeding, heavy bleeding, and irregular cycles.

 

[myopicmystic]

Interesting case. Though it does leave a lot of noise to sift through. Especially with the menstrual changes. You have to wonder if any of those users had underlying PCOS or other reproductive conditions, some of them possibly undiagnosed. Then, having to determine if it was the GLP1 or the underlying condition?

 

[CandyCap]

Correlation is not causation.
So many of these women started out with health issues like PCOS. Once these issue start to be "treated" (by weight loss, blood sugar stabilization, etc) things can normalize for them (some of which have not had an actual period in years).
It is going take an in depth study to sort it out

 

[GTS97]

Correlation is not causation.
So many of these women started out with health issues like PCOS. Once these issue start to be "treated" (by weight loss, blood sugar stabilization, etc) things can normalize for them (some of which have not had an actual period in years).
It is going take an in depth study to sort it out

… But it’s still helpful to the research because once these things are figured out in controlled studies, then these other variables can be isolated and determined if it (the drug/whatever subject of study) did help or if it was because of other factors — weight loss, blood sugar, etc. as you mentioned.

 

[CandyCap]

… But it’s still helpful to the research because once these things are figured out in controlled studies, then these other variables can be isolated and determined if it (the drug/whatever subject of study) did help or if it was because of other factors — weight loss, blood sugar, etc. as you mentioned.

Nobody said it wasn't helpful. It is just a reminder that correlation is not necessarily causation....basically "Don't freak out until there is more scientific information"

 

[ambot88]

That's actually super interesting. Anecdotally, I totally have had messed up cycles and temperature regulation problems since being on reta, definitely be interested in seeing it studied further in real tests.

 

[dobermom21]

It's probably rapid weight loss in general that does this, or at least it's a factor.

Same with bone density loss.

 

[FarmgirlRebel]

Well, it's one way to look for safety signals. With the sheer amount of people on Reta, far outpacing anything in the trials, while anecdotal, safety signals could be monitored w/o any liability pre release of the approved product.

Really cost effective way to monitor before mass release and inevitable law suits.

 

[DragonOfTheSea]

TLDR- here’s an abstract of the actual data the article referenced.

 

[UpDownLeftRightAS*]

While you are correct about the fact that individual and uncontrolled anecdotes are not “official study” quality, they are still helpful in the grand scheme of things.

With the aggregated data, official researchers could then study those anecdotes more closely — looking for things they may otherwise would not have before.

For sure. Also data from misuse / exceeding rangers. Lots of new user experiences that are shared that seem....excessive.

 

[conzopiriani]

Goodness! Imagine the skew when AI sucks down the data from this forum.

 

[ChicagoFit]

Can someone with paywall access kindly post the whole original article or link to it?
Here is the paywall abstract: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44360-026-00108-y

 

[A-Train]

I've been dealing with heavy intermenstrual bleeding and irregular cycles for a while now and I thought it was just an issue with my oral contraceptive but I finally put 2 and 2 together and all of this started when I started reta. I actually started my first dose during my cycle.

I've never been diagnosed with PCOS, fibroids or anything like that and have never had cycle irregularities until now. In my case it can't be blamed on rapid weight loss either. I started very low dose and continued very slow.

 

[Waterslither]

Wow that's actually quite intriguing, especially with the menstrual cycles. I thought to a certain extent being on GLPs actually helped out with mild hormonal dysregulation from other's experiences but some people might have the opposite effect. Will be interesting to see how this affects future research studies, if at all.

 

[randompersonrandom]

I've had irregular cycles since last summer, which I assumed was perimenopause, and which still might be, but was also when I started tirz. I'm pretty unconcerned. There's this weird assumption that if a woman doesn't bleed for x number of days every y number of days, she'll die of anxiety, but I'm not even the one who noticed that my cycles had become irregular. My work wife mentioned it, and I went oh, that's unusual, and then I went back to not really noticing that at all.

 

[RascalRaccoon]

Been on and off GLPs for almost 3 years now, cycle has always been regular but have been on OCP until about a month ago. Will be interesting to see if anything changes now

 

[Grogu]

Can someone with paywall access kindly post the whole original article or link to it?
Here is the paywall abstract: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44360-026-00108-y

The institution where I work only subcribes to a couple of years of this journal, but the authors have posted a copy of the paper here:

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

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...

arxiv.org

Top right hand corner says "Access Paper"

The abstract is the same as the one posted upthread. So, I'm sure it's the same paper

 

[Sasquatch]

What the fuck is Reddit?

 

[JFinHK]

It's very likely to be due to the fact that abdominal fat has a major role in hormone production/regulation...it disrupts sex hormones. So I can imagine if all that fat was reduced fast....But also, it would be interesting to see how many of those who reported changes in menstrual cycle were actually peri- or menopausal. That's a whole other pot of hormonal issues.