Weight loss injections like Wegovy have been hailed as ‘wonder-drugs’ with the potential to protect against heart attacks and strokes, but now a new study shows they could have some unlikely benefits.
Demand has rocketed for the drugs, with 500,000 Brits currently taking treatments for obesity or diabetes such as Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy, according to one of the biggest online sellers of the medications, Simple Online Pharmacy.
Obesity levels may even begin to fall this year in the UK thanks to the drugs, but researchers who looked at how the injections impacted the health of people with diabetes found that the jabs could cut the risk of 42 health problems.
Researchers took drugs currently used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity and looked into how they affect 175 conditions. They found people taking the jabs were less likely to develop health problems like psychotic disorders, heart disease and dementia.
However, the lead author warned it was unlikely the results would be seen in people without obesity, suggesting some of the health benefits might be due to weight loss, and not a direct result of the drugs themselves.
“We wanted, literally, to map the landscape of benefits and risks,” said Dr Ziyad Al-Aly, a physician-scientist at the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System in Missouri, who led the work.
“We only studied people with diabetes but there is no biologic or clinical reason to think that the beneficial and risk profiles would be very different in people without diabetes,” Dr Aly added.
With tens of thousands of Brits currently using anti-obesity treatments on the NHS, the drugs could also be used to treat a whole host of health problems in future.
(Image: PA)
People taking the drugs were 13 per cent less likely to develop substance-use disorders, 18 per cent less likely to have schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, 9 per cent less likely to have a heart attack and 9 per cent less at risk of dementia.
The observational study also found people were 30 per cent more likely to experience nausea and vomiting and 11 per cent more likely to have arthritic disorders after using the drugs.
The study looked into more than 2 million patients with diabetes, some of whom were taking their usual diabetes treatments, while others were also taking the jabs.
The drugs, known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, work by mimicking a hormone in the body that lowers blood sugar levels and makes people feel fuller for longer.
Some researchers warn the study lacks enough evidence to say the jabs could be used to treat other health problems.
“This is an observational study so cannot be considered anywhere near definitive, and such evidence will generally not influence clinical guidelines,” said Prof Naveed Sattar, Professor of Cardiometabolic Medicine/Honorary Consultant, University of Glasgow. “The findings fall well below the level of evidence that comes from gold standard placebo controlled randomised trials.”
That said, experts seem cautiously optimistic about the results, particularly after a UK death linked to tirzepatide in November 2024 sparked concerns about the safety of using the jabs.
“The expected benefits on heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular and most kidney diseases are clearly seen,” explains Prof Sir Stephen O’Rahilly FRS FMedSci, Professor of Clinical Biochemistry and Medicine and Director of the Wellcome-MRC Institute of Metabolic Science-Metabolic Research Laboratories, University of Cambridge.
“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” Prof O’Rahilly concluded.
The research was published in the journal Nature Medicine.
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