Ozempic and Other GLP-1 Meds Help Patients Manage Diabetes, Obesity and Maybe Some Mood Disorders

A new study suggests that, in addition to promoting better health through diabetes management and weight loss, GLP-1 receptor agonist medications like Ozempic and Saxenda may help improve mental health, The Guardian reports.

Researchers examining Swedish health records of nearly 95,000 people found that semaglutide, sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy, was associated with a 42% lower risk of worsening mental health in patients who already had anxiety or depression alongside diabetes. Liraglutide, sold as Saxenda, showed an 18% lower risk. 

The study, published in Lancet Psychiatry, tracked patients between 2009 and 2022, comparing periods when they were taking GLP-1s, or other diabetes medications, with when they weren’t.

Worsening mental health was measured through 1) records of psychiatric hospital admissions, 2) rates of sick leave from work for mental health, 3) hospitalization due to self-harm, and 4) death by suicide. Worsening depression and anxiety were also looked at separately – semaglutide was associated with a 44% lower risk of worsening depression, a 38% lower risk of worsening anxiety, and a 47% lower risk of worsening substance use disorder. 

Interestingly, researchers cannot point to a clear reason as to why the drugs might work for anxiety and depression in patients with diabetes.

Markku Lähteenvuo, one researcher on the study speculates that there may be “direct neurobiological mechanisms involved, for example, through changes in the functioning of the brain’s reward system,” said.

Other experts urge caution before gaining too much excitement. 

“From a clinical perspective, these findings are reassuring regarding the psychiatric safety of GLP-1 receptor agonists and suggest a potential role not only in preventing worsening but also, possibly, in improving mental health outcomes,” said Eduard Vieta, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Barcelona unaffiliated with the study. “However, they should not yet be interpreted as evidence of a direct therapeutic effect on depression or anxiety.”

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