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RecruitingNCT07136714SEMAMOODUpdated Feb 6, 2026

Does Semaglutide Improve Depressive Symptoms in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder and Overweight or Obesity

A Phase 4 interventional study of Semaglutide Injectable Product and Placebo in Major Depressive Disorder, sponsored by Nordsjaellands Hospital. Recruiting at 1 site in Denmark. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-02-06.

Sponsored by Nordsjaellands Hospital · Phase 4, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Sep 2025; still recruiting 1 year later.
Phase
Phase 4
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
116
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This 26-week long, double-blinded randomized clinical trial aims to investigate the effects of semaglutide once-weekly vs. placebo on depressive symptoms in 116 patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and co-existing overweight or obesity. The treatment will be an add-on treatment to the patient's usual medication. The investigators hypothesize that adjunctive treatment with semaglutide, will lead to a significant improvement in mood compared to placebo in patients with MDD and overweight or obesity.

The primary endpoint is the change in depressive symptoms measured as difference in the 12-item self-report mood questionnaire Major Depression Inventory (MDI) from start to follow-up after 26 weeks. The MDI measures the extent to which symptoms of depression have been present in the past two weeks.

Read the detailed description

This 26 week, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial investigate effects of semaglutide once-weekly vs. placebo on depressive symptoms in patients with unipolar disorder and comorbid obesity or overweight aged 18 years to 65 years. The primary endpoint is the change in depressive symptoms measured as difference in the 12-item self-report mood questionnaire Major Depression Inventory (MDI) from week 0 to week 26.

Participants will be randomized to receive once-weekly injection of either semaglutide or placebo.

Patients will be treated for 26 weeks with an initial dose of semaglutide of 0.25 mg once weekly for four weeks, 0.50 mg once weekly for four weeks 1.0 mg for four weeks, 1.7 mg for four weeks and finally 2.4 mg for the remaining treatment period. Assessments will be conducted at weeks 0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, and 26. Adherence and adverse events will be assessed during the entire treatment period. In addition, heart rate, blood pressure, height, body weight, waist and hip circumference will be recorded. The diagnosis of depression will be confirmed at baseline and depressive symptoms will be assessed with Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D17) at baseline week 0, 12 and 26. MDI will be completed monthly. Participants will also complete questionnaires on physical activity, cognitive complaints, perceived stress, the reward system, Quality of life, alcohol use, and sleep quality at baseline and week 26.

02

Conditions studied

  • Major Depressive Disorder

Keywords

  • GLP-1
  • Glucagon-like peptide 1
  • Semaglutide
  • Depression
03

In context

Depressive Disorder, Major

2,741 studies on the registry are indexed under Depressive Disorder, Major; 559 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 116 is above the median of 80 across 2,283 interventional studies indexed under Depressive Disorder, Major.

Browse Depressive Disorder, Major studies →

Lead sponsor

Nordsjaellands Hospital is the lead sponsor of 88 studies on the registry; 21 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  1. Informed oral and written consent.
  2. Diagnosed with unipolar disorder according to the criteria of ICD10 (International Classification of Diseases, World Health Organization (WHO)) or the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, the American Psychiatric Association
  3. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, 17-items (HDRS-17)47 score ≥14,
  4. Age 18 years to 65 years (both included)
  5. Body mass index (BMI) ≥27 kg/m2
  6. Able to speak and understand Danish

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Any significant medical disorder or conditions that contraindicate the investigational drug, e.g., pregnancy, presence of known allergy GLP-1 receptor agonists, severe neurological disorder, on-going drug, or alcohol abuse
  2. Coercive measures
  3. Females of childbearing potential who are pregnant, breast-feeding or have the intention of becoming pregnant within the next 9 months (26 weeks plus two months after discontinuation of semaglutide), or are not using contraceptives (during the whole study period) considered as highly effective (combined (oestrogen and progestogen containing) hormonal contraception associated with inhibition of ovulation (oral, intravaginal, transdermal), progestogen-only hormonal contraception associated with inhibition of ovulation (oral, injectable, implantable) intrauterine device - IUD, IUS, bilateral tubal occlusion, vasectomised partner, sexual abstinence)
  4. Patients treated with corticosteroids or other hormone therapy (except oestrogens).
  5. Any active substance abuse or dependence (except for nicotine)
  6. Impaired hepatic function (plasma liver transaminases >2 times upper normal limit).
  7. Impaired renal function (serum creatinine >150 μmol/l)
  8. Cardiac problems defined as decompensated heart failure (NYHA class III/IV), unstable angina pectoris, and/or myocardial infarction within the last 12 months
  9. Hypertension with systolic blood pressure >180 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure >100 mmHg
  10. Impaired pancreatic function (acute or chronic pancreatitis and/or plasma amylase >2 times upper normal limit). Receiving any experimental or pre-marketing drug within the last 3 months
  11. Use of diabetes medication or weight-lowering pharmacotherapy e.g. semagultid within the preceding 3 months
  12. Known type 1 and 2 diabetes or HbA1c>48mmol/l
  13. Suicidal behaviour as judged by the investigator and based on clinical evaluation. At all contact with patient attendance (please see Table 1) possible suicidality will be evaluatedaccording to the guidelines. If the patient is evaluated as suicidal, the person will be excluded from the study and evaluated by a senior consultant in psychiatry, who will take further action.
  14. Any condition that the investigator feels would interfere with trial participation.
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 4
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Quadruple (Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
116 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Semaglutide

    Wegovy once--weekly s.c titrated to max dose of 2.4 mg

    Drug: Semaglutide Injectable Product

  • Placebo comparator
    Placebo

    Saline s.c. once-weekly

    Drug: Placebo

Interventions

  • DrugSemaglutide Injectable Product

    Semaglutide (Wegovy) once-weekly injection s.c

  • DrugPlacebo

    Placebo (BD Posiflush) once-weekly injection s.c

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Change in depressive symptoms

    Change in depressive symptoms measured by the Major Depression Inventory (MDI; 12-item self-report mood questionnaire). The scale ranges from 0 to 50, with higher scores indicating worse outcome.

    Time frame: From baseline to 26 weeks of treatment

Secondary outcomes

  1. Glycaemic control parameters (blood sampling)

    Changes in HbA1c levels

    Time frame: From baseline to 26 weeks of treatment

  2. Body weight

    Change in body weight in kilograms (kg).

    Time frame: From baseline to 26 weeks

  3. Waist circumference

    Change in waist circumference in centimeters (cm).

    Time frame: From baseline to 26 weeks of treatment

  4. Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, 17-items (HDRS-17) score

    Change in depressive symptoms measured by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, 17-items (HDRS-17) score. The scale ranges from 0 to 52, with higher scores indicating worse outcome.

    Time frame: From baseline to 26 weeks of treatment

  5. Functioning assessment short test (FAST) score

    Changes in Functioning assessment short test (FAST) score. Total score in the range 0-72, where higher scores reflect more serious functional impairment

    Time frame: From baseline to 26 weeks of treatment

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Mental Health Centre North Zealand
    Hillerød, Denmark 3400, Denmark
    • Maj Vinberg, MD, DMSc, Professor · Contact · Maj.Vinberg@regionh.dk · +45 38643227
    • Christoffer Stanislaus, MD, ph.d.-student · Contact
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Yes — Individual Participant Data (IPD) will be shared upon reasonable and relevant requests, such as for meta-analyses. All IPD will be anonymized or de-identified to protect participants' privacy and in accordance with applicable regulations, including the GDPR.

Supporting information: Study protocol, Sap

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 6, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07136714
Lead sponsor
Nordsjaellands Hospital
Responsible party
Maj Vinberg (MD, DMSc, Professor, Nordsjaellands Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Aug 22, 2025
Start date
Sep 11, 2025
Primary completion
Sep 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Sep 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Feb 6, 2026

Study contacts

Maj Vinberg, MD, DMSc
Contact
maj.vinberg@regionh.dk
+ 45 38 64 32 27
Christoffer Stanislaus, MD, ph.d.-student
Contact
Christoffer.stanislaus@regionh.dk
Maj Vinberg, MD, PhD, DMSc
principal investigator · Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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