Comparison of Pediatric and Adult Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist Exposures Reported To United States Poison Centers, 2017-2024.

INTRODUCTION: As glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1) use has increased among children, a better understanding of the related adverse effects in this population is needed. METHODS: National Poison Data System data from 2017 to 2024 were analyzed to compare characteristics and trends of exposures involving GLP-1s reported to United States (US) poison centers (PCs) among children 6-17 years old with those of adults. RESULTS: There were 13,924 single-substance GLP-1 exposures reported to US PCs from 2017 to 2024. The rate of exposures per one million US population increased by 1,830.8% from 0.97 in 2017 to 18.79 in 2024, including a 4,805.0% increase among children 6-17 years old from 0.04 in 2017 to 1.97 in 2024, with the majority of the increase occurring after 2021. Most exposures (91.7%) were associated with no or mild effects, while moderate effects were observed in 8.0% and major effects occurred in 42 exposures; there were two deaths. Children 6-17 years old were more likely (RR: 2.66, 95% CI: 1.73-4.11) to be admitted than adults, and children 12-17 years old were more likely (RR: 1.68, 95% CI: 1.08-2.63) to experience a more serious medical outcome than adults. Children 6-17 years old with at least one clinical effect experienced vomiting (88.2%) more commonly than adults (61.3%) (RR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.34-1.55). Additionally, exposures among children 6-17 years old were more likely to be attributable to intentional misuse (RR: 8.12, 95% CI: 6.47-10.17) than among adults. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides national-level, real-world findings that may help inform clinical practice.