People taking Ozempic may experience fewer heart attacks, strokes and addictions – but may experience more nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain

Ozempic and Wegovy are increasingly available in Australia and around the world for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity.

The dramatic effects of these drugs, known as GLP-1, on weight loss have generated enormous public interest in this fresh treatment option.

However, the risks and benefits are still being actively researched.

In new study In Nature Medicine, U.S. researchers reviewed the health records of about 2.4 million people with type 2 diabetes, including about 216,000 people taking the drug GLP-1, from 2017 to 2023.

Researchers compared a range of health outcomes when GLP-1 was added to a person’s treatment plan to treating diabetes in other ways, often using glucose-lowering drugs.

Overall, they found that people using GLP-1 were less likely to experience 42 conditions or adverse health events, but were more likely to experience 19 others.

What conditions occurred less frequently?

Cardiometabolic conditions

GLP-1 operate was associated with fewer major cardiovascular and coagulation disorders. This includes deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, stroke, cardiac arrest, heart failure and myocardial infarction.

Neurological and mental diseases

GLP-1 operate was associated with fewer reports of substance operate disorders or dependence, psychotic disorders, and seizures.

Infectious conditions

GLP-1 operate was associated with fewer bacterial infections and pneumonia.

What diseases were more common?

Gastrointestinal conditions

Compatible with previous studiesThe operate of GLP-1 has been associated with gastrointestinal disorders such as nausea, vomiting, gastritis, diverticulitis, and abdominal pain.

Other side effects

An increased risk has been observed with conditions such as low blood pressure, syncope (syncope) and arthritis.

How resilient is this study?

The study used a gigantic and reputable dataset from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. This is an observational study, which means researchers monitored health outcomes over time without changing anyone’s treatment plan.

The study’s strength is that it collected data from more than 2.4 million people over more than six years. This is much longer than is typically possible in an interventional trial.

These types of observational studies are also thought to be more reflective of the “real world” because participants are not asked to follow instructions designed to change their behavior in an unnatural or forced way, as is the case in intervention studies.

However, this study cannot say with certainty that GLP-1 operate was responsible for the change in risk of various health outcomes. Such conclusions can only be drawn with certainty on the basis of carefully controlled intervention studies in which researchers actively change or control treatment or behavior.

The authors note that the data used in this study came primarily from older, white men, so the findings may not apply to other groups.

Furthermore, the gigantic number of participants means that even very miniature effects can be detected, but may in fact have no real impact on the overall health of the population.

Other possible reasons for these links

In addition to the effects of GLP-1 on the body, other factors may explain some of the findings of this study. It is possible, for example, that:

• people who used GLP-1 could be better informed about treatment options and be more motivated to take care of their health

• people who used GLP-1 may have received it because their medical team was motivated to offer the latest treatment options, which could lead to better care in other areas that influence the risk of various health outcomes

• people who used GLP-1 were able to do so because they lived in metropolitan centers and could afford the medications as well as other health-promoting services and products such as gyms, mental health care, and well food delivery services.

Did the authors have any conflict of interest?

Two of the study’s authors said they were “unpaid consultants” for Pfizer, a global pharmaceutical company known for developing a wide range of drugs and vaccines. While Pfizer does not currently produce readily available GLP-1 like Ozempic or Wegovy, it is trying to develop one own GLP-1, so they may benefit from greater demand for these drugs.

This research was funded by funds United States Department of Veterans Affairsa government agency that provides a wide range of services to military veterans.

No other competing interests have been reported.

Diabetes vs weight loss treatment

Overall, this study shows that people with type 2 diabetes taking GLP-1 medications generally have more positive health effects than negative ones.

However, the study did not include people without type 2 diabetes. More research is needed to understand the effects of these drugs on people without diabetes who operate them for other reasons, including weight loss.

While the findings highlight the therapeutic benefits of GLP-1 drugs, they also raise critical questions about how to manage potential risks for people choosing to operate this drug.

The results of this study can assist many people, including:

• Policymakers are looking for ways to boost the availability of GLP-1 medicines for people with a variety of conditions

• healthcare professionals who regularly talk to patients considering GLP-1

• people wondering whether GLP-1 is right for them.