Medicines such as semaglutide and tirzepatide have become well known for helping people lose weight and control type 2 diabetes.
These medicines belong to a group called GLP-1 receptor agonists and are sold under brand names including Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro.
Scientists have recently noticed that some people taking these medicines also seem to drink less alcohol, raising an important question about whether the drugs might help people living with alcohol use disorder.
A new study published in the open-access journal BMJ Open explored this possibility.
Researchers examined whether people with alcohol use disorder who started one of the newer GLP-1 medicines were less likely to be admitted to hospital because of alcohol-related problems than people taking other commonly prescribed medicines.
Alcohol use disorder is a long-term medical condition in which a person finds it difficult to control their drinking despite harmful consequences. It increases the risk of liver disease, heart problems, injuries, mental illness, family difficulties, and early death. Severe drinking can also lead to repeated hospital admissions, placing a heavy burden on both patients and healthcare systems.
The researchers analysed health records from 40,703 adults who had alcohol use disorder as well as either obesity or type 2 diabetes. The participants started treatment between January 2018 and December 2024.
The study compared people taking semaglutide or tirzepatide with similar people receiving other diabetes medicines, obesity medicines, or approved medicines used to treat alcohol use disorder.
To make the comparisons fairer, the researchers divided participants into four separate study groups representing different clinical situations. They then measured how often alcohol-related hospital admissions occurred after treatment began.
The results consistently favoured the GLP-1 medicines. Compared with other diabetes medicines, GLP-1 drugs were linked with a 26% lower risk of alcohol-related hospital admission. Compared with other weight-loss medicines, the reduction was 32%.
The differences were even larger when compared with medicines specifically used to treat alcohol use disorder, including acamprosate, disulfiram, and naltrexone. Among people with type 2 diabetes, GLP-1 treatment was associated with a 63% lower risk of alcohol-related hospital admission. Among people with obesity, the reduction reached 65%.
Although these findings are encouraging, the researchers stressed that this was an observational study rather than a randomised clinical trial. The study could only show an association, not prove that the medicines directly reduced alcohol-related harm.
Other differences between patients, such as income, access to healthcare, disease severity, or overall health, may have influenced the results.
The authors also noted that alcohol use disorder is often underdiagnosed because many people never seek help or do not disclose their drinking. Hospital records may therefore miss some alcohol-related problems. In addition, many participants stopped treatment during the study period, which may have affected the findings.
In my view, this research provides strong evidence that GLP-1 medicines deserve further investigation as a possible treatment for alcohol use disorder. The large number of participants and the consistent findings across several patient groups make the study important, but properly designed clinical trials are still needed before treatment recommendations change.
If future studies confirm these benefits, medicines already used for diabetes and obesity could become valuable new tools for reducing alcohol-related illness and hospital admissions.
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Source: BMJ Open.
