People who take liraglutide or semaglutide for weight reduction cut back their alcohol consumption by nearly two-thirds in 4 months, new analysis introduced on the European Congress on Weight problems (ECO 2025) has discovered.
The analysis can also be printed within the journal Diabetes, Weight problems and Metabolism.
Alcohol use dysfunction is a relapsing situation that accounts for two.6 million deaths a yr—4.7% of all deaths globally.
Remedies corresponding to cognitive behavioral remedy (CBT), therapies that purpose to strengthen motivation to cease or cut back ingesting and medicine will be very profitable within the quick time period, nevertheless, 70% of sufferers relapse inside the first yr.
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogs, medicine developed to deal with weight problems, have decreased alcohol consumption in animal research, however stories are solely beginning to emerge about their impact on alcohol consumption in people.
To seek out out extra, Professor Carel le Roux, of College Faculty Dublin, and colleagues in Eire and Saudi Arabia prospectively collected knowledge on the alcohol consumption of sufferers who have been being handled for weight problems at a clinic in Dublin.
The actual-world examine concerned 262 adults with a BMI ≥27 kg/m2 (79% feminine, common age 46 years, common weight 98kg/15 stone 6lb) who have been prescribed the GLP-1 analogs liraglutide or semaglutide for weight reduction.
The sufferers have been categorized into non-drinkers (n=31, 11.8%), uncommon drinkers (<10 models/week, n=52 19.8%) and common drinkers (>10 models/week, n=179, 68.4%) based mostly on their self-reported alcohol consumption earlier than they began taking the weight-loss medicine.
A complete of 188 of the 262 sufferers have been adopted up for a mean of 4 months. None of them had elevated their alcohol consumption.
Common alcohol consumption decreased from 11.3 models/week to 4.3 models/week after 4 months of remedy with the GLP-1 analogs—a discount of virtually two-thirds.
Among the many common drinkers, consumption decreased from 23.2 models/week to 7.8 models/week. This discount of 68% is akin to that achieved by nalmefene, a drug used to deal with alcohol use dysfunction in Europe, notes Professor le Roux.
He provides, “The precise mechanism of how GLP-1 analogs cut back alcohol consumption remains to be being investigated, however it’s thought to contain curbing cravings for alcohol that come up in subcortical areas of the mind that aren’t beneath acutely aware management. Thus, sufferers report the consequences are ‘easy.'”
The examine’s limitations embody the comparatively small variety of sufferers, using self-reported alcohol consumption and the absence of a management group. Its strengths embody using knowledge collected prospectively in a real-world setting.
Professor le Roux concludes, “GLP-1 analogs have been proven to deal with weight problems and cut back the danger of a number of obesity-related problems. Now, the useful results past weight problems, corresponding to on alcohol consumption, are being actively studied, with some promising outcomes.”
Extra data:
Maurice O’Farrell et al, Glucagon‐like peptide‐1 analogues cut back alcohol consumption, Diabetes, Weight problems and Metabolism (2025). DOI: 10.1111/dom.16152
Supplied by
European Affiliation for the Research of Weight problems
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Weight-loss medicine lower alcohol consumption by nearly two-thirds, analysis in Eire suggests (2025, Could 9)
retrieved 10 Could 2025
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