Less Drug and Alcohol Use When People Take GLP-1s

New observational research in Addiction suggests that the rates of drug and alcohol use might be lower by as much as half when people are taking GLP-1s. Specifically, half as many people with alcohol use disorder had episodes of intoxication if they were taking a GLP-1. Among people with opioid use disorder, the rate of overdoses was 40% lower.

This study is not proof of efficacy. But it offers documentation of something clinicians have been reporting anecdotally for some time now.

Matt Field is a professor of psychology at the University of Sheffield. He does research on alcohol and drug addiction, but had no involvement with this study. He explained its significance:

“This study suggests that patients with heroin or alcohol addiction who are prescribed Ozempic (typically for diabetes or obesity) are less likely to be hospitalized for heroin overdose or alcohol intoxication, respectively. The findings add to those from other studies, particularly animal research, which suggest that this and similar drugs might one day be prescribed to help people with addiction.”

Insights and Limitations

Field noted that the endpoints of intoxication and overdose in this observational study, though interesting, have limitations.

“Those outcomes are very different from the outcomes used when researchers test new treatments for addiction, in which case we might look at whether the treatment helps people to stop taking the substance altogether (complete abstinence), or if it helps people to reduce the amount of substance they consume, or how often they consume it.”

So the evidence is growing for the potential of these medicines for treating addiction disorders. What is lacking is definitive evidence for their clinical value.

Click here for the new study, here, here, here, and here for further perspective.

The Soldier Drinks, painting by Marc Chagall / WikiArt

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October 19, 2024