Weight-loss jabs could reduce your risk of drug abuse, seizures and pneumonia, as well as heart attacks and strokes, scientists have found.
Last year, research revealed that weight-loss jabs – or GLP-1RAs – such as Wegovy and Ozempic could reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke.
Now, scientists believe the treatments have even broader benefits than previously thought.
GLP-1RAs are a class of drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity. An example of an GLP-1RA is semaglutide, found in Wegovy and Ozempic, and tirzepatide, found in Mounjaro.
Researchers in the US analysed data from the US Department of Veterans Affairs to investigate the associations between the drugs and 175 health outcomes in 215,970 people with diabetes.
This group was compared to a control group who used drugs that reduce blood sugar levels.
The team, based at Washington University School of Medicine, found that people who used GLP-1RAs had a lower risk of deep vein thrombosis, stroke, cardiac arrest, and heart failure.
The researchers also suggest new potential beneficial effects of the jabs, including associations with a lower risk of substance use disorders, psychotic disorders, seizures, bacterial infections and pneumonia.
Meanwhile, GLP-1RA-use was also associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal conditions, such as nausea and vomiting, diverticulitis, gastritis and abdominal pain, as well as hypotension and arthritis, compared with “usual care” for diabetics.
The findings have been published in Nature Medicine.
The researchers added that although some clinical trials have already shown extra benefits of the drugs, the “wider extent” of their health benefits had yet to be explored.
GLP-1RAs have gained substantial popularity in the past several years due to their benefit as a weight-loss treatment.
Two treatments – Wegovy and Mounjaro – have been approved for use on the NHS for people with obesity but officials have decided to roll them out slowly due to fears meeting the immediate demand for the drugs will overwhelm the health service.
Ozempic, another GLP-1RA, has been approved for diabetics.
The research team acknowledged that their findings are observational and do not prove cause and effect, and called for further research to confirm their results in other cohorts and clinical trials.
They also said future studies should include more-diverse cohorts, as data from the US Department of Veterans Affairs are predominantly from older, white men.
How intermuscular fat increases heart attack risk - and if you could be affected
Read MoreSir Stephen O’Rahilly, professor of clinical biochemistry at the University of Cambridge, said the study needed to be interpreted “very cautiously as the people studied have not been randomly allocated to GLP1 receptor agonist treatment, so any difference between those taking and not taking the class of drug could potentially be attributable to factors other than the drug”.
“That said, the study provides useful reassurance about the safety of this class of drugs,” he added.
“The expected benefits on heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular and most kidney diseases are clearly seen.
“There is also a reassuring reduction in the incidence of several cancers, including pancreatic.
“Importantly, as there has been discussion in the media about possible adverse effects of the drugs on mental health, the group taking the drug had a lower incidence of schizophrenia, alcohol and drug use disorders, and less suicidal ideation.”
Professor O’Rahilly said future studies of people treated with these drugs for obesity, without accompanying diabetes, are “awaited with interest”.
‘I might have avoided diabetes if I wasn’t stuck on weight-loss waiting list’
By Alannah Francis
A woman who waited for four years on an NHS waiting list for weight-loss support has said she believes she could have avoided developing type 2 diabetes if she was given help sooner.
Hannah Baker, 44, said she has struggled with her weight her whole life.
The mum of two, who enrolled on private medical provider Oviva’s Tier 3 weight management programme in August, has lost 33 pounds and seen her BMI fall since becoming a participant.
Oviva’s weight-loss programme, which is commissioned and accredited by the NHS, is free for patients and can prescribe eligible participants NHS weight-loss injections.
Wegovy patient Hannah Baker, 44, said she has struggled with her weight her whole lifeMs Baker said she felt forgotten while on the NHS waiting list and as though help was “never” going to come – but is now losing weight at a “steady and manageable pace”.
As part of the weight-loss service, she has “a whole team behind you that work with you to reach your goal weight”, including a psychologist and dieticians that provide feedback on her individual meal choices.
She told The i Paper: “I do believe that if I’d had help a little bit sooner then maybe I wouldn’t have got the type 2 diabetes.
“I do think that was definitely diet-related. So, had my diet changed earlier, then maybe it wouldn’t have got to that point.
“I’m lucky that it’s reversible and it’s definitely going that way.”
To read the full story, click here.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Weight-loss drugs reduce risk of seizures, drug abuse and heart attacks, study finds )
Also on site :
- Powerful blast rocks residential building in Moscow
- ‘Sopranos’ and ‘The Wire’ Actor Dies at 84
- I Took Magnesium Before Bed for 6 Months and It Completely Transformed My Sleep