Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor Agonists can effectively control Alcohol Use Disorder, finds study

Harmful use of alcohol is a global burden both economically
and healthcare-wise. Psychological treatments are the main line of management
of this. However, pharmacological management can also be used to reduce the
harmful usage of alcohol. Research shows that Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor
(GLP-1) agonists that are used to treat diabetes and obesity can also be used to
treat alcohol use disorder. Hence researchers conducted a study to investigate
the potential of GLP-1 agonists as a treatment for reducing alcohol-related
harms.

This observational cohort study used real-world data from
Swedish registries. The data was collected from registers of inpatient care,
specialized outpatient care, sickness absence, and disability pension.
Participants were all residents aged 16 to 64 with a diagnosis of AUD. A cohort
of 227 886 individuals were followed up from AUD diagnosis to death,
emigration, or end of data linkage. The main exposure was GLP-1 agonists, which
were exenatide, liraglutide, dulaglutide, and semaglutide. The secondary
exposure was the use of AUD medications. Hospitalization due to AUD was the
primary outcome of measurement while hospitalization due to substance use
disorder, somatic reasons, and suicide attempts was the secondary outcome of
measurement. Cox regression models with fixed effects were used to calculate
the within-individual risk of an outcome associated with use vs nonuse of
pharmacotherapies.

Findings:

• The cohort included 227 866 individuals with AUD
  of which 144 714 (63.5%) were male and the remaining (36.5%) were female.
• The cohort’s mean (SD) age was 40.0 (15.7)
  years, and the median (IQR) follow-up time was 8.8 (4.0-13.3) years.
• A total of 133 210 individuals (58.5%)
  experienced AUD hospitalization.
• Semaglutide (4321 users) and liraglutide (2509
  users) were associated with the lowest risk of both AUD and SUD
  hospitalization.
• AUD medications were associated with a modestly
  decreased risk.
• Semaglutide and liraglutide use were also
  associated with a decreased risk of somatic hospitalizations but not associated
  with suicide attempts.

Thus, the study concluded that semaglutide and liraglutide
were associated with a substantially decreased risk of hospitalization due to
AUD and can be effectively used in the management of alcohol use disorder.

Further reading: Lähteenvuo M, Tiihonen J, Solismaa
A, Tanskanen A, Mittendorfer-Rutz E, Taipale H. Repurposing
Semaglutide and Liraglutide for Alcohol Use Disorder. JAMA Psychiatry. Published
online November 13, 2024. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.3599