Ozempic can also take away the desire to drink alcohol
A study suggests that consumption of this substance is reduced by 30% one month after receiving the injections.
BarcelonaTaking semaglutide drugs – an active ingredient that mimics a hormone that regulates blood glucose levels and is used for diabetes and, more recently, against obesity – reduces alcohol consumption, according to research from the University of Southern California (USC) published this Wednesday in JAMA Psychiatry. This is a side effect that has been reported by doctors and patients around the world in recent years, due to the popularization of drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy, but which had not been confirmed until now. According to this research, people who use these drugs have a reduced desire to drink, so they not only consume less alcohol, but they do so less often.
The American researchers recruited 48 adults with problematic alcohol consumption – more than seven drinks a week in women and more than fourteen in men – who had not previously actively sought treatment. Half received Ozempic in low doses and the other half, a placebo. One week before the first injection and one week after the last injection, the researchers invited the participants to drink their favorite alcoholic beverages for a period of two hours in a laboratory environment adapted to analyze their behavior.
The participants' weekly drinking patterns were measured over nine weeks and the scientists found that after just thirty days of treatment, the participants drank on average 30% less than before. In contrast, those receiving the placebo only reduced their consumption by 2%. In addition, almost 40% of people in the semaglutide group reported that they had not consumed excessive amounts of alcohol on any day, compared to 20% in the placebo group. This suggests that Ozempic may not only make food less appealing, but also alcohol. In addition, in a small subgroup of participants who also smoked, those who had received Ozempic also reduced the number of cigarettes smoked per day compared to the placebo group.
According to the authors of this randomized trial, this is the strongest evidence yet that this is more than an anecdote or a placebo effect and the finding could open the door to helping treat a global public health problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.6 million people die each year from causes attributable to alcohol consumption, as spirits are linked to liver, cardiovascular and oncological diseases, as well as traffic accidents.
Clinical signs
Although there are some drugs designed to treat alcohol use disorder – which is based on an inability to stop or control drinking despite the negative consequences – they are not widely used. So this finding holds great promise, say the US researchers. Until now, such a link between semaglutide and reduced desire to drink alcohol has only been observed in the healthcare field: many patients reported to their doctors that immediately after injecting the drug to lose weight or control their diabetes, they no longer had the desire to drink.
"Our results justify larger studies of GLP-1 receptor agonists for alcohol use disorder," adds Christian Hendershot, first author of the study and director of clinical research at the USC Institute of Addiction Sciences. with alcohol use disorders," admits Klara Klein, of the School of Medicine and co-author of the study.
