A major new study has shed light on the wider health benefits (and drawbacks) of Ozempic and Wegovy. In fact, the new research has revealed 61 ways the weight loss drugs could impact our bodies, with most being beneficial.
Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), such as Ozempic and Wegovy, function by mimicking the action of hormones naturally produced in our bodies that help regulate appetite, effectively promoting feelings of fullness and reducing hunger.
“Given the drugs’ newness and skyrocketing popularity, it is important to systematically examine their effects on all body systems – leaving no stone unturned – to understand what they do and what they don’t do,” said the study’s senior author Dr Ziyad Al-Aly, assistant professor of medicine at Washington University, in the US.
Al-Aly and his team discovered that the weight-loss drugs may decrease the risk of 42 health conditions and increase the risk of 19.
How weight-loss drugs could improve your health
Published in Nature Medicine, the new study analysed 2 million people with diabetes, with data collected by the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Of these individuals, almost 216,000 were using GLP-1RAs, while the rest were using diabetes drugs that reduce blood sugar levels (but which were not GLP-1RAs).
The results suggested there could be a huge range of health benefits for those using the weight-loss drugs. These include a lower risk of cardiovascular disorders like blood clotting, heart attack and stroke – a finding that supports previous studies.
However, the researchers also revealed potential benefits beyond the ones people are already talking about. Despite concerns that GLP-1RAs might cause suicidal thoughts, the new study reveals potential benefits to neurological health. In fact, they actually found that people using the weight-loss drugs had decreased risks of suicidal intentions, self-harm, substance use disorders, psychotic disorders like schizophrenia and the eating disorder bulimia.
Al-Aly thinks that the same mechanism which helps you lose weight could be at play here. “Interestingly, GLP-1RA drugs act on receptors that are expressed in brain areas involved in impulse control, reward and addiction – potentially explaining their effectiveness in curbing appetite and addiction disorders.”
The people using the weight-loss-drugs were also less likely to have cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s and dementia, which could be because GLP-1RAs reduce inflammation in the brain. And it doesn’t stop there – they were also less prone to seizures, bacterial infections and pneumonia.
While not a cure for these conditions – the researchers say GLP-1RAs reduced all of these risks by only 10–20 per cent – the benefits are still significant, especially for conditions like dementia where few effective treatments are available.
Why weight-loss drugs could have unseen risks
So what’s the catch? While there are clearly many potential benefits, GLP-1RAs could have a few drawbacks. The researchers found that people using it had an increased risk of gastrointestinal conditions (like nausea and vomiting), abdominal pain, low blood pressure and arthritis. Surprisingly, the researchers also uncovered an increased risk of uncommon, yet serious, pancreas and kidney conditions.
“GLP-1RA drugs can have broad health benefits,” Al-Aly said. “However, they are not without risks. Our findings underscore the possibility for wider applications for these medications but also highlight important risks that should be carefully monitored in people taking these drugs.”
Al Aly also said the results could inform clinical care – yet other researchers are cautious, noting how the study's design does not account for other potential influences.
“Studies such as these have to be interpreted very cautiously as the people studied have not been randomly allocated to GLP1 receptor agonist treatment [drugs such as Ozempic], so any difference between those taking and not taking the class of drug could potentially be attributable to factors other than the drug,” said Prof Sir Stephen O'Rahilly, Director of the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science-Metabolic Research Laboratories, who was not involved in the study.
“That said, the study provides useful reassurance about the safety of this class of drugs,” he added.
The Washington University scientists acknowledge that their findings are only observational and so do not prove that GLP-1RAs cause any of these benefits or risks. They also say that, while the participants included a range of ages, races and sexes, the cohort was primarily older, white men.
Nevertheless, the findings could help guide future research with a wider range of people. As O’Rahilly noted, the results are, “reassuring regarding the risk/benefit ratio for the long-term use of GLP-1RAs in people with diabetes. Future studies of people treated with these drugs for obesity, without accompanying diabetes, are awaited with interest.”
Full list of GLP-1RA impacts
Positive outcomes
The study found statistically significant evidence that drugs such as Ozempic could decrease the risk of the 42 health conditions below...
- Shock
- Aspiration pneumonitis
- Hepatic failure
- Respiratory failure
- Cardiac arrest
- Bulimia
- Schizophrenia
- Pulmonary hypertension
- Postop respiratory complications
- Liver cancer
- Septicemia
- Stimulant use disorders
- Pneumonia
- Thromboembolic disorders
- Pleural effusion
- Hemorrhagic stroke
- Chronic phlebitis
- Opioid use disorders
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Cannabis use disorders
- Bacterial infections
- Acute pulmonary embolism
- Acute kidney injury
- Post-thrombotic sequelae
- Pneumonitis
- Heart failure
- Gangrene
- Alcohol use disorders
- Suicidal ideation
- Seizures
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Osteomyelitis
- Myocardial infarction
- Muscle pain
- Fever
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Coagulopathy and clotting disorders
- Ischemic stroke
- Neurocognitive disorders
- Urinary tract infections
- Chronic kidney disease
- Anemia
Negative outcomes
The study found statistically significant evidence that drugs such as Ozempic could increase the risk of the 19 health conditions below...
- Nausea and vomiting
- Noninfectious gastroenteritis
- Sleep disturbances
- Abdominal pain
- GERD
- Nephrolithiasis
- Headaches
- Tendinitis and synovitis
- Arthralgia
- Arthritis
- Gastritis
- Hemorrhoids
- Diverticulosis and diverticulitis
- Bone pain
- Gastroparesis
- Syncope
- Interstitial nephritis
- Hypotension
- Osteoarthritis
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