According to a recent study, people using Ozempic, Mounjaro and Wegovy, popular medication for diabetes and weight loss, are less likely to be diagnosed with anxiety or depression compared to those who aren’t taking these drugs. Epic Research reviewed over 4 million patient records and found that diabetics are less likely to experience anxiety if they use any glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, commonly known as GLP-1s.
Five different kinds of GLP-1s were analyzed during the research which included tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus), dulaglutide (Trulicity), liraglutide (Saxenda, Victoza) and exenatide (Byetta, Bydureon). This study compared patients who took GLP-1s for weight loss with those who used other types of weight loss medication. Similarly, diabetics were compared with non-diabetes patients who weren’t taking a GLP-1.
Interestingly, among non-diabetic individuals, semaglutide was linked with a lower probability of depression and anxiety. However, the data did not show any significant difference among those using liraglutide. At the time of undertaking this study, only semaglutide and liraglutide solutions were officially approved for chronic weight management. Towards the end of 2023, the FDA also approved Zepbound, a product by Eli Lilly, as another weight loss GLP-1.
In the diabetic patient group, all drugs except liraglutide were found to decrease depression levels. Interestingly, all drugs showed a positive impact on reducing anxiety levels. Diabetic patients on tirzepatide depicted the least levels of anxiety and depression. However, it is still not clear if the lower cases of depression and anxiety diagnosis were due to the medication, the result of weight loss, or a combination of both.
In line with this research, the FDA is investigating a potential link between GLP-1s and an increased risk of suicidal thoughts, although they have yet to find any evidence.
