Popular weight loss medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro could offer an unexpected weapon against America’s deadly opioid epidemic, with new research showing patients taking these drugs were 40 percent less likely to be hospitalized for drug overdoses and 50 percent less likely to require treatment for alcohol intoxication. The study found that participants taking these drugs had 40 percent lower rates of opioid overdose and 50 percent lower rates of alcohol intoxication compared to those not taking the medications. Even when looking at different health conditions, patients with OUD and AUD who received GIP/GLP-1 RA prescriptions still showed lower rates of both opioid overdoses and alcohol intoxication.
These results are consistent with animal studies showing that GLP-1 RA drugs can reduce substance-related behaviors in rodents, the authors wrote. However, he cautioned that the study focused on “very extreme” cases of substance intoxication, rather than the more common metrics used in addiction treatment research. Traditional addiction studies examine whether treatments help people achieve complete abstinence or reduce their substance consumption and frequency of use, Field added.
The researchers emphasized that their findings, while based on observational data that cannot prove direct causation, suggest a promising avenue for treatment. They called for prospective clinical trials to validate these associations and understand the underlying mechanisms. They added that.