Can weight loss drugs actually help lower depression and anxiety risk?

ISLAMABAD, Feb 20 (Online|): GLP-1 agonist diabetes drugs have found a second use as weight-loss medications. Now, a new study from electronic medical records company Epic reports that their use also corresponds to a reduction in depression and anxiety.
Five GLP-1 drugs were linked to reduced depression and anxiety in people with diabetes, compared with people who were not taking GLP-1 medications.

This group of medications is based on related compounds, all of which are glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP) receptor agonists that mimic the natural GLP-1 intestinal hormone. In doing so, they produce insulin after eating, helping to reduce blood sugar. They also slow the emptying of the stomach and promote a sensation of being full, leading to a reduction in appetite.
The medications are generally injectable, although oral versions are also available.
The most well-known GLP-1 drugs, Wegovy and Ozempic, are based on semaglutide. Other GLP-1 agonist compounds tested in the study are liraglutide, dulaglutide, and exenatide, as well as tirzepatide that mimics a second intestinal hormone, gastric inhibitory polypeptide, or GIP, in addition to GLP-1.

People with diabetes taking tirzepatide were 65% less likely to be diagnosed with depression and 60% less likely to have anxiety, compared to people not taking GLP-1 drugs. People with diabetes who were taking semaglutide were 45% less likely to be diagnosed with depression, and 44% less likely to have anxiety.
Two of the drugs, semaglutide and liraglutide, were assessed as regards depression and anxiety in people without diabetes.
For people who do not have diabetes, only semaglutide was associated with a reduction in depression and anxiety, compared to people who were not on GLP-1 medications.

There was no statistically significant improvement for people taking liraglutide.
The study was undertaken by Epic Research, an investigative branch of Epic, one of the largest holders of electronic medical records in the U.S. Two teams of in-house researchers analyzed anonymized patient data, coming to the same conclusions.
The study analyzed patient records for 3,081,254 people with diabetes and 929,174 without diabetes, who were taking the drugs for weight loss. The researchers factored in a range of variables to eliminate confounding influences on their results.
The study is published by Epic Research.

Can Ozempic treat depression?
“The results suggest a potentially new therapeutic benefit of GLP-1 medications beyond their established use for glucose control and weight management,” said general practitioner with Zava, Dr. Kathryn Basford, who was not involved in the research.
Dr. Crystal Wyllie, also a general practitioner with Zava, who was also not involved in the research, noted that the study “goes some way in addressing concerns raised by the FDA [U.S. Federal Food and Drug Administration] about depression and suicidal ideation associated with semaglutide, as it suggests that these concerns may not be directly linked to these specific weight-loss treatments.”
In early January 2024, the FDA released an update regarding their investigation of a connection between GLP-1 drugs and suicidal ideationTrusted Source.

“Our preliminary evaluation has not found evidence that use of these medicines causes suicidal thoughts or actions,” the agency concluded.
Dr. Mir Ali, medical director at the MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center, who was not involved in the study, was not surprised by the findings, saying, “There were only a few case reports and there’s hundreds of thousands of patients on these medications.”
One question left unanswered for now is whether the reduction in depression and anxiety diagnoses are a direct result of the medication.
Dr. Basford said the study “doesn’t definitively clarify whether these improvements are due to the biochemical effects of the medicines or are a result of improved self-esteem. I would be interested to see further research in this area.”