Ozempic and related weight reduction medicine could decrease danger of 42 well being situations, but additionally pose dangers

A number of years in the past, a little-known drug named Ozempic—beforehand used solely to deal with diabetes—emerged as a promising new drug for weight administration.

The Meals and Drug Administration’s approval of Ozempic in 2021 for weight reduction therapy ushered in a brand new period for the category of medication referred to as glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists, or GLP-1.

As we speak, GLP-1 medicine, together with Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound, have turn out to be family names and key instruments within the combat towards weight problems: 1 in 8 American adults say they’ve used a GLP-1 drug, and forecasts present that by 2030, 1 in 10 People will probably be utilizing these drugs.

Now, analysis from my lab and others means that GLP-1 medicine might assist deal with dozens of different illnesses as nicely, together with cognitive points and habit issues. Nonetheless, my colleagues and I additionally discovered beforehand unidentified dangers.

I’m a physician-scientist and I direct a scientific epidemiology middle targeted on addressing public well being’s most pressing questions. My workforce works to deal with essential data gaps about COVID-19, lengthy COVID, influenza, vaccines, effectiveness and dangers of generally used medicine, and extra.

On Jan. 20, 2025, my workforce printed a research of greater than 2.4 million people who evaluated the dangers and advantages of GLP-1 medicine throughout 175 doable well being outcomes. We discovered that these medicine lowered dangers of 42 well being outcomes, practically 1 / 4 of the entire that we analyzed. These embody neurocognitive issues akin to Alzheimer’s illness and dementia, substance use and habit issues, clotting issues and a number of other different situations.

Sadly, we additionally discovered that GLP-1 medicine include important unintended effects and improve the danger of 19 well being situations we studied, akin to gastrointestinal points, kidney stones and acute pancreatitis, wherein the pancreas turns into infected and dysfunctional.

Cognitive advantages

Probably the most essential well being advantages we discovered was that the GLP-1 medicine lowered the danger of neurodegenerative issues, together with Alzheimer’s illness and dementia. These findings align with different analysis, together with proof from preclinical research exhibiting that these medicine could scale back irritation within the mind and improve the mind’s capacity to kind and strengthen connections between its cells, bettering how they impart with each other. These results contribute to mitigating cognitive decline.

Two different key research have proven that sufferers handled with a GLP-1 drug for diabetes had a decrease danger of dementia.

All of those research strongly level to a possible therapeutic use of GLP-1 medicine in therapy of the cognitive decline. Ongoing randomized trials—the gold normal for evaluating new makes use of of medication—are trying on the results of GLP-1 medicine in early Alzheimer’s illness, with outcomes anticipated later in 2025.

Curbing habit and suicidal ideation

GLP-1 medicine have additionally demonstrated potential in lowering dangers of a number of substance use issues akin to these involving alcohol, tobacco, hashish, opioids and stimulants. This can be because of the capacity of those medicine to modulate reward pathways, impulse management and inflammatory processes within the mind.

The effectiveness of GLP-1 medicine in curbing addictive conduct could clarify their spectacular success in treating weight problems, a persistent illness state that many have instructed is certainly a meals habit dysfunction.

Our research demonstrated a lowered danger of suicidal ideas and self-harm amongst folks utilizing GLP-1 medicine. This discovering is especially important given earlier reviews of suicidal ideas and self-injury in folks utilizing GLP-1 medicine. In response to these reviews, the European Medicines Company performed a evaluation of all obtainable knowledge and concluded that there was no proof of elevated danger of suicidality in folks utilizing GLP-1 medicine.

Now at the very least two research, together with our personal, present that GLP-1 medicine truly scale back the danger of suicidality.

Different advantages

Along with the well-documented results of GLP-1 medicine in lowering dangers of opposed cardiovascular and kidney outcomes, our research exhibits a big impact in lowering danger of blood clotting in addition to deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

One puzzling discovering in our research is the lowered danger of infectious ailments akin to pneumonia and sepsis. Our knowledge enhances one other current research that got here to an analogous conclusion exhibiting that GLP-1 medicine lowered danger of cardiovascular loss of life and loss of life resulting from infectious causes, primarily COVID-19.

That is particularly essential since COVID-19 is thought to be a important cardiovascular danger issue. Whether or not GLP-1 medicine utterly offset the elevated danger of heart problems related to COVID-19 must be totally evaluated.

GLP-1 medicine may additionally be helpful in treating fatty liver illness and situations starting from bronchial asthma to persistent obstructive pulmonary illness, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, melancholy and eye issues.

Dangers and challenges

Regardless of their broad therapeutic potential, GLP-1 medicine are usually not with out dangers.

Gastrointestinal points, akin to nausea, vomiting, constipation and gastroesophageal reflux illness are among the many most typical opposed results related to GLP-1 medicine.

Our research additionally recognized different dangers, together with low blood stress, sleep issues, complications, formation of kidney stones, and gall bladder illness and ailments related to the bile ducts. We additionally noticed elevated dangers of drug-induced irritation of the kidneys and pancreas—each severe situations that can lead to long-term well being issues. These findings underscore the significance of cautious monitoring in people who find themselves taking GLP-1 drugs.

A big problem with utilizing GLP-1 medicine is the excessive charges at which sufferers cease utilizing them, usually pushed by their exorbitant price or the emergence of opposed results. Discontinuation can result in speedy weight achieve.

That is an issue, as a result of weight problems is a persistent illness. GLP-1 medicine present efficient therapy however don’t handle the underlying causes of weight problems and metabolic dysfunction. In consequence, GLP-1 medicine should be taken long run to maintain their effectiveness and forestall rebound weight achieve.

As well as, many questions stay in regards to the long-term effectiveness and dangers of those medicine in addition to whether or not there are variations between GLP-1 formulations. Addressing these questions is essential to information scientific follow.

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