A comprehensive new study supports evidence of the myriad health benefits of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro — and even some new potential upsides.
Analyzing the medical records of roughly 2.5 million patients within the VA system, researchers at the Department of Veterans Affairs found that GLP-1 weight-loss drugs have an impact on a whopping 175 diseases and conditions.
The study seems to confirm, as previously suggested, that GLP-1 medications aid in the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease by reducing inflammation and substance abuse by influencing dopamine levels in the brain.
But some of the results were unexpected, including how these drugs can help with things like blood clotting and infections.
The study was published in the the journal Nature Medicine on Monday.
Their findings show that GLP-1 drugs are associated with a reduced risk of psychotic disorders, seizures, and heart conditions like heart attack and stroke — but that’s not all.
“We tend to think of drugs as surgically designed to do only one thing. But the reality is almost never like this,” Ziyad Al-Aly, a co-author of the paper and chief of research for the VA St. Louis Health Care System, said.
Al-Aly explained that many medications, including GLP-1, result in an “intricate web of various effects.”
Within this web, GLP-1 use was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular, kidney, and liver issues.
While Ozempic is currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat Type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiac risk, Novo Nordisk, the company that manufactures it, has said it will apply to update the drug’s label for use in patients with chronic kidney disease.
The VA study also found that GLP-1 drugs may be effective in treating blood clotting, respiration, and infection, all of which was unexpected.
“The surprising ones are cool because that gives you a new avenue to pursue,” David Cummings, professor of medicine in the Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition at the University of Washington, told The Washington Post.
Additionally, this latest study seemed to support previous research that found GLP-1 drugs can improve mental health and reduce the risk of suicide. These findings contradict previous concerns about the potential of drugs like Ozempic to trigger suicidal ideation and self-harm in children and adults.
Researchers are keen to explore the possibility, as suggested by the relationship between these medications and improved mental health, that GLP-1 drugs lessen stress responses in human beings.
Yet not all of the effects were found to be beneficial to the body.
The use of GLP-1 medications was linked to GI issues like reflux, headaches, pancreatitis, and an increased risk of arthritis. The latter is particularly bewildering to scientists as the drugs cause weight loss, which should ease arthritis symptoms.
Cummings noted that while more research is needed, alarm over potential risks is uncalled for.
“Every medicine has its pluses and minuses, and these are no exception. But in this case, the pluses greatly outweigh the negative,” he said.
Experts also note that the VA population tends to be older, less diverse, and predominately male, so the study’s results may not truly reflect the U.S. population en masse. Further, VA patients tend to have multiple health conditions and are being treated with multiple medications, factors which can skew results
Semaglutide — the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy — is part of a class of drugs that mimic the body’s natural GLP-1 hormone, making users feel fuller for longer.
GLP-1 drugs indirectly reduce inflammation through weight loss. The meds can also activate certain T cells, white blood cells key to the immune system, which can have anti-inflammatory effects.
The use of GLP-1 medications has proliferated in recent years. A recent KFF Health Tracking Poll revealed that 12% of US adults had taken an Ozempic-like drug at some point.
A recent report found that most people taking GLP-1 drugs do not stay on their prescribed treatment for a minimum of 12 weeks. More than 30% of patients drop it after just four weeks because they suffer early side effects like nausea or other digestive problems — or they can’t afford to continue.
