GLP-1 side effects in women and men: what FDA shows
Few FDA labels give a side-effect figure by sex. Wegovy, Zepbound, Foundayo, and Saxenda do. Zepbound's says: "In a pool of Study 1 and 2, hair loss was reported more frequently in female than male patients in the ZEPBOUND (7.1% female versus 0.5% male) and placebo (1.3% female versus 0% male) treatment groups." Of FDA's adverse event reports that state a sex, 58% to 84% are about women, depending on the medicine, but those reports cannot show who gets more side effects.
What the labels print by sex
Every side-effect figure by sex we found in the adverse reactions section of each current label, word for word.
“In the CV outcomes trial in adults, more fractures of the hip and pelvis were reported on WEGOVY than on placebo in female patients: 1% (24/2,448) vs. 0.2% (5/2,424), and in patients ages 75 years and older: 2.4% (17/703) vs. 0.6% (4/663), respectively.”
FDA label, effective Jun 18, 2026
“In a pool of Study 1 and 2, hair loss was reported more frequently in female than male patients in the ZEPBOUND (7.1% female versus 0.5% male) and placebo (1.3% female versus 0% male) treatment groups.”
FDA label, effective Aug 28, 2026
“In a pool of Trials 1 and 2, hair loss was reported more frequently in female than male patients in the FOUNDAYO (7% female versus 0.9% male) and placebo (3% female versus 0.7% male) treatment groups.”
FDA label, effective Jul 29, 2026
“In SAXENDA clinical trials in adults, breast cancer confirmed by adjudication was reported in 17 (0.7%) of 2379 SAXENDA-treated women compared with 3 (0.2%) of 1300 placebo-treated women, including invasive cancer (13 SAXENDA- and 2 placebo-treated women) and ductal carcinoma in situ (4 SAXENDA- and 1 placebo-treated woman).”
FDA label, effective Feb 25, 2026
Who was in the trials
The share of women and men shapes how much a label's side-effect table tells you about each.
Wegovy
“Baseline characteristics included a mean age of 48 years, 71% female, 72% White, 14% Asian, 9% Black or African American, and 5% reported as other or unknown; and 85% were not Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 13% were Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and 2% reported as unknown.”
Ozempic
“Across the treatment arms, the mean age of patients was 56 years, 3.4% were 75 years or older and 55% were male.”
Rybelsus and Ozempic tablets
“The mean age of patients was 58 years, 3.9% were 75 years or older and 52% were male.”
Zepbound
“The mean age of patients was 47 years and 37% were male.”
Mounjaro
“The mean age of patients was 58 years, 4% were 75 years or older and 54% were male.”
Foundayo
“The mean age of patients was 49 years and 41% were male.”
Trulicity
“The mean age of patients was 56 years, 1% were 75 years or older and 53% were male.”
Saxenda
“Baseline characteristics included a mean age of 47 years, 71% female, 85% white, 39% with hypertension, 15% with type 2 diabetes, 34% with dyslipidemia, 29% with a BMI greater than 40 kg/m 2 , and 9% with cardiovascular disease.”
Victoza
“The mean age of adult patients was 58 years, 4% were 75 years or older and 54% were male.”
What people report to FDA
Counts of voluntary reports with a stated sex. Anyone can file one. They cannot show a medicine caused anything, and they are not rates.
Mounjaro
58,096 reports are about a woman and 22,068 about a man (72% women).
Most reported by women: injection site pain, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, bleeding at the injection site, redness at the injection site, constipation, blood glucose increased.
Most reported by men: injection site pain, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, blood glucose increased, bleeding at the injection site, constipation, weight decreased.
Trulicity
45,296 reports are about a woman and 32,586 about a man (58% women).
Most reported by women: nausea, injection site pain, blood glucose increased, vomiting, diarrhea, decreased appetite, bleeding at the injection site, weight decreased.
Most reported by men: blood glucose increased, injection site pain, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, bleeding at the injection site, weight decreased, glycosylated haemoglobin increased.
Zepbound
52,026 reports are about a woman and 12,548 about a man (81% women).
Most reported by women: nausea, injection site pain, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, fatigue, redness at the injection site, weight increased.
Most reported by men: nausea, diarrhea, injection site pain, constipation, vomiting, bleeding at the injection site, weight increased, fatigue.
Ozempic
41,038 reports are about a woman and 22,422 about a man (65% women).
Most reported by women: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, decreased appetite, weight decreased, headache, slowed stomach emptying.
Most reported by men: nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, decreased appetite, weight decreased, constipation, blood glucose increased, upper abdominal pain.
Byetta
32,773 reports are about a woman and 18,210 about a man (64% women).
Most reported by women: blood glucose increased, nausea, weight decreased, blood glucose decreased, decreased appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness.
Most reported by men: blood glucose increased, weight decreased, nausea, decreased appetite, blood glucose decreased, vomiting, pancreatitis, dizziness.
Victoza
24,101 reports are about a woman and 14,823 about a man (62% women).
Most reported by women: nausea, blood glucose increased, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, decreased appetite, weight decreased, pancreatitis.
Most reported by men: nausea, blood glucose increased, diarrhea, pancreatitis, vomiting, weight decreased, decreased appetite, dizziness.
Wegovy
17,630 reports are about a woman and 4,591 about a man (79% women).
Most reported by women: nausea, vomiting, less weight loss than expected, diarrhea, constipation, weight increased, fatigue, headache.
Most reported by men: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, weight increased, less weight loss than expected, fatigue, dizziness.
Rybelsus and Ozempic tablets
4,216 reports are about a woman and 2,824 about a man (60% women).
Most reported by women: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, decreased appetite, headache, blood glucose increased, slowed stomach emptying.
Most reported by men: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, decreased appetite, weight decreased, blood glucose increased, constipation, dizziness.
Saxenda
5,806 reports are about a woman and 1,109 about a man (84% women).
Most reported by women: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, less weight loss than expected, fatigue, weight increased, headache.
Most reported by men: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, pancreatitis, abdominal pain, weight increased, less weight loss than expected.
Foundayo
2,251 reports are about a woman and 538 about a man (81% women).
Most reported by women: nausea, constipation, vomiting, weight increased, fatigue, less weight loss than expected, headache, diarrhea.
Most reported by men: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, weight increased, fatigue, less weight loss than expected, abdominal discomfort.
FDA Adverse Event Reporting System, through openFDA, file of Oct 28, 2026.
Common questions
Do women get more side effects on GLP-1s?
The reports cannot say. Of the Mounjaro reports that state a sex, 58,096 are about a woman and 22,068 about a man. Nothing in a report says how many women and men take the medicine, so a count is not a rate. Each label's trial tables are where rates are, and they rarely split by sex.
Is hair loss more common in women on GLP-1s?
The labels that print it say so. Zepbound: "In a pool of Study 1 and 2, hair loss was reported more frequently in female than male patients in the ZEPBOUND (7.1% female versus 0.5% male) and placebo (1.3% female versus 0% male) treatment groups." Foundayo: "In a pool of Trials 1 and 2, hair loss was reported more frequently in female than male patients in the FOUNDAYO (7% female versus 0.9% male) and placebo (3% female versus 0.7% male) treatment groups." Hair loss, from each label
Are fractures more common in women on GLP-1s?
One label reports it from one trial. Wegovy's says: "In the CV outcomes trial in adults, more fractures of the hip and pelvis were reported on WEGOVY than on placebo in female patients: 1% (24/2,448) vs. 0.2% (5/2,424), and in patients ages 75 years and older: 2.4% (17/703) vs. 0.6% (4/663), respectively." It is the only figure of its kind we found in the current labels. Bone loss and fractures, from each label
Why are most people in the weight-loss trials women?
The labels state who enrolled, not why. Their figures are below. A trial's share of women tells you how much of its result comes from women, so a low share of men leaves less to go on for men, and the same in reverse.
Do GLP-1s affect birth control?
Some labels address it directly, and the answer differs by medicine and by the kind of birth control. Birth control, from each label
What about pregnancy and menopause?
Each label has its own section on pregnancy and breastfeeding, and the research on menopause is set out separately. Pregnancy, from each label
How current are these figures?
FDA's reports were last updated Oct 28, 2026. The labels are read daily, and each one below shows its own date. Every side effect, from each label