Weight-loss drugs cut drug and alcohol abuse, according to new study

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Drugs such as Novo Nordisk’s blockbuster Ozempic can cut drug and alcohol abuse by up to 50% according to a new study, adding to mounting evidence that the drugs yield health benefits beyond diabetes and weight loss.

In a study published Thursday in scientific journal Addiction, around 500,000 people with a history of opioid use disorder were analyzed, of which just more than 8,000 were taking either GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic or the similar GIP class of drugs that Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro belongs to. GLP-1 drugs work by mimicking a gut hormone to control blood sugar and suppress appetite while GIP medications take a dual-target approach by mimicking both the GLP-1 hormone and a second gut hormone that is believed to enhance the drug’s effectiveness.

The study found that those taking the drugs had a 40% lower rate of opioid overdose compared with those who didn’t. Similarly, an analysis of more than 5,600 people with a history of alcohol use disorder and who took the drugs showed they had a 50% lower rate of intoxication compared with those who didn’t take them.

“Our study… reveals the possibilities of a novel therapeutic pathway in substance use treatment," the study’s lead researcher Fares Qeadan and co-authors of the research report Ashlie McCunn and Benjamin Tingey said. The researchers, from Loyola University Chicago, said the study opens avenues for more comprehensive and effective treatment strategies for opioid and alcohol use disorders.