Another day, another study linking Ozempic to major health benefits.
PPublished on Wednesday JAMA Psychiatry, The study found that patients diagnosed Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) Those given the GLP-1 drug were less likely to be hospitalized for alcohol-related issues.
In fact, they found that it worked even better than the most effective drug currently on the market to treat alcoholism.
according to National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and AlcoholismMore than 28 million adults in the US suffer from AUD.
There are only three medications currently approved for the treatment of AUD, and expert opinion suggests that these options are not suitable for all patients, and recurrences are common.
“I see a lot of patients who are not having good results with the medications we have and who are desperate for help to overcome their addiction,” said study leader Dr. Markku Lahtinvuo. “We really need more tools in the toolbox.”
Currently, the anti-addiction drug naltrexone is the most effective drug approved for AUD, reducing the risk of hospitalization by 14%.
GLP-1 drugs treat diabetes and promote weight loss by mimicking the naturally occurring hormone GLP-1, which signals the body that it is full.
But the study found that semaglutide (which is sold under brand names like Ozempic and Vegovy) and liraglutide (which is sold under the brand name Victoza) reduced the risk of hospitalization by 22% and 21%, respectively. Did it.
Lahtinvuo and his team analyzed the medical records of 228,000 people with alcohol use disorders from 2006 to 2023. All these patients also had obesity or type 2 diabetes.
During the study, 60% of participants were hospitalized due to alcohol use, but the rate of alcohol-related hospitalization was dramatically lower in people taking the GLP-1 drug.
About 75,000 study participants were given the drug to treat AUD. Within this subset, the team documented 30,000 hospitalizations.
Of the approximately 4,300 people prescribed semaglutide, there were 220 reports of hospitalization for AUD. Other participants who took older GLP-1 drugs, including liraglutide and dulaglutide, also reported fewer hospitalizations.
Lahtinvuo said the link between GLP-1 drugs and alcohol consumption may be related to the amount of sugar in alcohol, because GLP-1 drugs make sugary beverages less appealing.
Along with food, Ozempic users have reported The craving for alcohol is reducedDrugs, and nicotine.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Ozempic in 2017 to treat type 2 diabetes in adults and Vegovy in 2021 for weight loss in adults. since its Approvalhave been researchers Testing the effect of Ozempic On other chronic diseases, such as colorectal cancer, osteoarthritisAnd brain disorder,
Research Published earlier this year established that GLP-1 drugs may be able to treat Alcohol and opioid addiction By affecting dopamine levels in the brain. These types of drugs interact with the mesolimbic system – a major reward center in the brain that overlaps with brain processes that control addictive behavior.
according to World Health OrganizationAlcohol abuse is responsible for 5.1% of the global burden of disease.
more than this 5% of all cancer cases are caused by drinking alcoholAccording to the Cancer Progress Report 2024 of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
Lahtinvuo says that while more research is needed, drugs like Ozempic may offer hope to those burdened by addiction, “Our study shows that in addition to obesity and diabetes, GLP-1-agonists may also reduce alcohol and drug abuse. May also help treat substance use disorders; However, these findings need to be further validated in randomized controlled trials.
