UT San Antonio Today: UT San Antonio study: As FDA approved semaglutide for weight management, calls to poison control centers skyrocketed in the U.S.
Source:Â UT San Antonio Today
Publication Date:Â June 17, 2026
Medical Toxicologist(s): Shawn M. Varney, MD
Keywords/Topics:Â semaglutide, GLP-1, ozempic
UT San Antonio Today: UT San Antonio study: As FDA approved semaglutide for weight management, calls to poison control centers skyrocketed in the U.S.
Under Han’s guidance and supported by the Provost’s Undergraduate Research Fellowship, Miller and Long School of Medicine colleagues Robert S. Miller, Pharm.D, senior specialist in poison information, and Shawn M. Varney, MD, professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and medical director of the South Texas Poison Center, studied the data.
Jordan Miller later presented the team’s findings at UT San Antonio’s Los Datos conference, where she took home first prize.
Prior to 2021, poison control centers nationally received roughly 1,000 to 1,500 cases per year. After mid-2021, these volumes nearly doubled, and by 2023 poison centers logged more than 8,000 GLP-1RA-related calls.
Most cases stemmed from unintentional dosing or therapeutic errors rather than deliberate misuse, but the UT San Antonio researchers found the massive increase jarring nonetheless.