Weight-loss drugs may also help cut alcohol intake: Study

GLP 1 drugs may have found Its next blockbuster use and it has nothing to do with weight loss.

Results of a new randomised controlled trial published in The Lancet found weekly semaglutide injections reduced heavy drinking days by 50%.

The trial was small with just 108 patients who participated at a single mental health centre in Denmark. Authors highlight key limitations including that the study is small and there was no follow up after the trial to see if alcohol consumption changed. However, they say the study adds to the growing evidence for use of GLP-1s in alcohol use disorder, potentially affecting millions of people, given the global rates of alcohol use disorder and obesity.


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During the trial Wegovy formulation was used at doses consistent with its approved obesity indication.

"A trial of 108 adults with obesity seeking treatment for alcohol use finds a once-weekly semaglutide injection reduced heavy drinking days in the past 30 days by an average of roughly 12 days, 50% higher than the eight-day reduction seen in the placebo group," said the Lancet.

Alcohol use disorder accounts for 5% of deaths worldwide annually, and existing treatments remain limited, under-prescribed, and heavily stigmatised.

The latest study, the first of its kind, found that weekly semaglutide injections reduced heavy drinking days by 50% more than placebo in adults with obesity seeking treatment for alcohol use disorder. Participants on the drug went from 17 heavy drinking days per month to just five and cut their monthly alcohol consumption from roughly 2,200 grams to 650 grams; about half the reduction seen in the control group. At the start of the trial, "patients had on average 17 days of heavy drinking over the last 30 days. However, after six months, those on semaglutide had an average of roughly five heavy drinking days over the previous 30 days, compared to nine days in the placebo group."