Weight loss drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro can reduce the need for hospital admissions among alcohol-dependent people, according to a study of 41,000 users. Researchers say the drugs, now available in pill form as well as injection, could be explored as a possible treatment for addiction.
Study findings
The study looked at people who had started either Wegovy, Ozempic or Mounjaro between January 2018 and December 2024. Alcohol-dependent people on the appetite-suppressing drugs were around two thirds less likely to need hospital admission.
Author Dr Hemalkumar Mehta, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, US, said: “These findings may suggest a potential role for GLP-1 receptor agonists in the context of alcohol-use disorder.”
Reduction in risk
Scientists combined findings from four similar studies. The analysis found GLP-1 drugs slashed the risk of alcohol-related hospital admission by 26% compared with other diabetes medicines. Among those using the drugs for weight loss, the risk was 32% lower compared with other obesity medications. Weight loss injections lowered the risk of alcohol-related hospital admission by 63% and 65% respectively among type 2 diabetics with alcohol problems and obese people with alcohol problems.
The latest available figures show there were more than one million hospital admissions related to alcohol in England in 2023/24.
Expert commentary
Colin Angus, professor of alcohol policy at Sheffield University Addictions Research Group, said: “This looks like a reasonable study that adds to a growing body of evidence that GLP-1s may reduce alcohol-related harm. However, this is a US-based observational study, and newer GLP-1s are expensive treatments, meaning there may well be some important differences between the people taking GLP-1s and those not taking them that may not be fully controlled for. For example, it is more likely that people from more affluent groups, with better health insurance, can afford them. I'd view this as adding a little more weight to the emerging evidence, rather than the definitive word on the matter.”
