Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Melissa Patrick and Liberty Gilbert

Kentucky Health News

Whether it is prescribed for diabetes or weight loss, Ozempic and other weight loss drugs have found their home in Kentucky, even though researchers from Washington University in St. Louis say more information is needed on the drug’s impact on the body.

To address this, researchers from the university conducted a study of more than 2 million people looking at the risks and benefits of these drugs, also called GLP-1 or GLP-1RA, across 175 different outcomes. The data for the study came from a database maintained by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“Given the drugs’ newness and skyrocketing popularity, it is important to systematically examine their effects on all body systems — leaving no stone unturned — to understand what they do and what they don’t do,” Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, the study’s senior author, said in a news release.

Using prescription data from PurpleLab Inc., Bloomberg reports that Kentucky, with 41% of its adults considered obese, leads the nation for the highest prescription rates for drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, with around one of every 15 Kentucky residents, or 6.8%, having a prescription.

The study, published in Nature Medicine, “found widespread associations with benefits to cognitive and behavioral health, while also revealing increased risks for pancreatitis and kidney conditions, among others,” according to the release.

“GLP-1RA drugs can have broad health benefits,” Al-Aly, a clinical epidemiologist and nephrologist, said in the release. “However, they are not without risks. Our findings underscore the possibility for wider applications for these medications but also highlight important risks that should be carefully monitored in people taking these drugs.”

The study found the GLP-1 drugs “were associated with significant benefits to neurological and behavioral health, with reduced risks of seizures and addiction to substances such as alcohol, cannabis, stimulants and opioids. People taking the weight-loss drugs also experienced decreased risks of suicidal ideation, self-harm, bulimia and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.”

It also showed a decreased risk of neurocognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, according to the release. And, it confirmed past research findings detailing the drugs’ potential to lower the risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular concerns.

“Interestingly, GLP-1RA drugs act on receptors that are expressed in brain areas involved in impulse control, reward and addiction — potentially explaining their effectiveness in curbing appetite and addiction disorders,” Al-Aly said. “These drugs also reduce inflammation in the brain and result in weight loss; both these factors may improve brain health and explain the reduced risk of conditions like Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.”

The study also confirmed other studies that have found an increased risk of gastrointestinal problems such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and in rare cases paralysis of the stomach.

Further, the study found that the GLP-1 drugs can negatively affect the pancreas and kidneys. “While these adverse effects are uncommon, they can be very serious; physicians must be vigilant for signs of pancreatitis and monitor kidney function among people taking GLP-1RA medications,” according to the release.

“GLP-1RA drugs can have broad health benefits,” Al-Aly said. “However, they are not without risks. Our findings underscore the possibility for wider applications for these medications but also highlight important risks that should be carefully monitored in people taking these drugs.”