Could GLP-1 drugs help your mental health? New study finds a link
Global News
Semaglutide, the active ingredient in GLP-1 drugs, was associated with a lower risk of worsening mental health, a study published in Lancet Psychiatry found.
It’s not just weight loss and diabetes: GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also help patients suffering from anxiety and depression, a new study has found.
Semaglutide, the active ingredient in Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus, was associated with a lower risk of worsening mental health, the study published in Lancet Psychiatry found.
“We found that semaglutide and, to a lesser extent, liraglutide were associated with significantly lower risk of worsening mental illness… in people using antidiabetic medications, compared with time periods when GLP-1 receptor agonists were not used,” the study said.
The study defined mental illness as a combination of hospitalization due to mental disorder or self-harm, sick leave for psychiatric reasons, or suicide.
“This was a large study of the Swedish database, which is a very large, well-known database which has data on all Swedes from birth until death. They know who has diabetes and who doesn’t have diabetes and the drugs that they take,” said Dr. Hertzel Gerstein, professor at McMaster University and at Hamilton Health Sciences.
Researchers looked at the health records of 95,490 people in Sweden, 81 per cent of whom had anxiety, 55 per cent had depression and 36 per cent had both conditions. The study compared their risk of mental health conditions in periods when they were taking GLP-1 drugs and in periods when they weren’t.
Semaglutide was linked to a 42 per cent lower risk of worsening mental health overall, 38 per cent lower risk of worsening anxiety disorder and 44 per cent lower risk of worsening depression, the study found.
The drug could also prove to be effective for those struggling with addiction and substance use, with the study finding a 47 per cent lower risk of worsening substance use disorder associated with semaglutide.
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