Weight-loss jabs can ‘effortlessly' reduce alcohol intake
Jabs for weight loss can 'effortlessly' reduce the amount of alcohol that people drink, research suggests.
The research, which will be presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Malaga which opens on Sunday, found that the medication made a significant difference to drinking habits, regardless of the starting point. Patients taking the injections to lose weight cut their intake by almost two-thirds within months.
Small studies have previously found that the GLP-1 agonists curb cravings for alcohol among people with addiction problems.
The new Irish study involved 262 overweight patients who were prescribed injections such as semaglutide for weight loss.
Average alcohol intake fell from 11.3 units per week to 4.3 units after four months of treatment with the jabs.
Even more striking results were achieved by those classed as regular drinkers, with average intake falling from 23.2 units a week to 7.8 units per week.
Scientists said the fall was comparable to that achieved by the drug nalmefene, which is used to treat alcohol use disorder.
The study involved 262 adults with a BMI ≥27 kg/m² (79 per cent female, average age 46 years, average weight 15 stone 6lb) who were prescribed the GLP-1 analogues liraglutide or semaglutide for weight loss.
The patients were categorised into non-drinkers, rare drinkers and regular drinkers, based on their self-reported alcohol intake.
Prof Carel le Roux, of University College Dublin, and colleagues in Ireland and Saudi Arabia prospectively collected data on the patients who were being treated for obesity at a clinic in Dublin.
Prof le Roux said: 'The exact mechanism of how GLP-1 analogues reduce alcohol intake is still being investigated. But it is thought to involve curbing cravings for alcohol that arise in subcortical areas of the brain that are not under conscious control. Thus, patients report the effects are 'effortless'.
'This research points to a potentially new pharmacological treatment paradigm for alcohol use disorder which could yield enormous benefits for society.'
Researchers said patients reported that after an evening meal they were too full to have their usual drink. When they did drink, they reported reaching satiety very fast and were more likely to feel nauseous.
Some said they enjoyed the flavour of their drinks less. And many said their hangovers were much worse, deterring them the next time.
GLP-1 receptor agonists are a class of medications that mimic the action of hormones which suppress appetite.
They include semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy weight loss jabs and the diabetes medication Ozempic.
The findings add to growing evidence of the drugs' benefits beyond weight loss.
Dr Riccardo De Giorgi, a clinical lecturer at the department of psychiatry at the University of Oxford, said one theory is that the drugs 'might reduce reward processes associated with food intake'.
But he said that larger clinical trials are needed.
Prof Kamila Hawthorne, the chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said emerging research should be taken into account for clinical guidelines on the drugs' use.
She added: 'Millions of our patients struggle with both obesity and alcohol consumption, and both can have a serious impact on their health.
'There is clearly a lot of potential for weight loss drugs, which are still very new medications, to have wide-ranging benefits for patients, so it's good to see research being undertaken to explore these.
'However, it's also important that medical interventions aren't seen as a silver bullet for either weight loss or to suppress cravings for alcohol.'
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