GLP-1-class weight-loss drugs can help users shed dozens of pounds, leading to a more active, energized life.
One in eight Americans now say they are taking the shots, which first became popularized in the U.S. in the early 2020s.
Since then, researchers have examined additional benefits the drugs may have across multiple organ systems.
They’ve found positive impacts on harmful inflammation that can lead to deadly cancer, life-robbing dementia and cardiovascular health.
“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, a clinical epidemiologist and nephrologist at Missouri’s John J. Cochran Veterans Hospital, said in a statement.
So what does the research say so far about the many beneficial impacts?
The heart
Lower inflammation tied to the drugs protects the blood vessels. Inflammation is a major part of how the most common heart disease in the U.S. starts, according to Nebraska Medicine cardiologist Dr. Christina Dunbar Matos.
“If we can treat the disease at its root, that’s a great thing,” she said.
The shots can also reduce hospitalizations and deaths in people with a type of heart failure where the heart doesn’t fill properly with blood, known as “HFpEF.”
Several recent studies have found that the medications help to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
A study from England’s University of Bristol and University College London showed GLP-1-mimicking drugs could help prevent further tissue damage following a heart attack and limit the risk of further complications.
“With an increasing number of similar GLP-1 drugs now being used in clinical practice, for conditions ranging from type 2 diabetes and obesity to kidney disease, our findings highlight the potential for these existing drugs to be repurposed to treat the risk of ‘no-reflow’ in heart attack patients, offering a potentially life-saving solution,” said University College London Professor David Atwell.
The kidneys
More than one in seven Americans is living with chronic kidney disease – and many are unaware that they are affected, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
GLP-1s can reduce the risk of kidney disease worsening, as well as developing kidney failure, the American Kidney Fund said.
“These medicines help to control your blood sugar levels. This means that less sugar enters your kidneys, preventing damage to the filters of your kidneys,” the fund wrote.
A Johns Hopkins study released earlier this week showed that the five-year risk of major cardiovascular events and end-stage kidney disease was reduced by 15 percent and 19 percent, respectively, for type 1 diabetes patients taking the drugs.
The liver
The drugs also show promise in treating liver disease. Harvard researchers found that taking the drugs led to a reversal of liver scarring due to metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease, also known as “MASH.” The scarring is one of the most common reasons for liver transplants.
A study from King’s College London showed semaglutide — the active ingredient for Ozempic and Wegovy — effectively treats liver disease in two-thirds of patients.
In August, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of Wegovy to treat MASH in adults with excessive scar tissue in the liver.
Diseases
Lastly, there may even be some benefits for the 7.2 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease — the most common form of dementia in the U.S. — and 100 million Americans living with obesity.
People with obesity are at a higher risk of developing life-threatening cancer, and 2.1 million new cases are expected this year, according to the American Cancer Society.
However, GLP-1 users may have a reduced risk of developing 14 types, including a 47 percent lower risk of ovarian cancer, Purdue University researchers found.
For people with Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative brain conditions, GLP-1s have shown mixed results.
Semaglutide pills did not slow disease progression compared to a placebo, researchers said last November. However, separate research using a GLP-1 drug called liraglutide showed nearly 50 percent brain volume loss and an 18 percent slower decline in cognitive function in people with Alzheimer’s in December.
Scientists are still working to understand the relationship between GLP-1s and Alzheimer’s.
“A negative trial result may indicate lack of drug access to the brain, rather than failure of the concept itself,” Paul Edison, a professor of neuroscience at Imperial College London, explained.
