Psychiatric Safety of Tirzepatide in People With Obesity and No Known Major Psychopathology: A Post Hoc Analysis of SURMOUNT.

OBJECTIVE: This post hoc analysis assessed psychiatric changes with tirzepatide in adults with obesity, without known major psychopathology, from SURMOUNT-1, SURMOUNT-2, and SURMOUNT-3. METHODS: In participants (N = 4056) treated with tirzepatide (5/10/15 mg or maximum tolerated dose 10/15 mg) versus placebo, depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation and behavior (SI/SB) were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS), respectively. Nervous system and psychiatric disorder adverse events (AEs) were collected. RESULTS: Mean (SD) baseline PHQ-9 scores were 2.7 (3.0) for tirzepatide and 2.6 (3.1) for placebo, indicating no/minimal symptoms of depression. At week 72, scores were 1.9 (2.7) and 2.4 (3.3), respectively (estimated treatment difference [SE]: -0.6 [0.1]); p < 0.001. Tirzepatide-treated participants were less likely to shift to a more severe PHQ-9 category (18.2% vs. 24.3%; p < 0.001). Using the C-SSRS, 0.6% of participants in each group reported SI, most of which was considered low risk. SB (nonfatal) occurred in 0.1% of tirzepatide-treated participants versus none with placebo. AEs were generally similar across groups. CONCLUSIONS: In this post hoc analysis, tirzepatide versus placebo did not appear to be associated with an increased risk of depression in participants with overweight/obesity and without known major psychopathology. Rates of SI/SB observed with tirzepatide were similar to those of other incretin-based therapies. Further study of tirzepatide's safety in persons with significant psychiatric illness may be warranted. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers: NCT04184622, NCT04657003, and NCT04657016.