Weight loss drugs continue to make headlines.
A new study conducted by researchers from the University of Southern California looked at a positive side effect of drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy – a reduction in alcohol consumption.
Their work found that for adults struggling with alcohol use disorder, weight loss drugs containing semaglutide (the generic name for Ozemic and Wegovy) could curb alcohol cravings and lead to less heavy drinking.
While similar studies have been conducted on this topic, the researchers wrote that they’ve relied mostly on “observational or anecdotal data.” Comparatively, the researchers explained that this is “the first randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial of semaglutide designed to study the phenomenon.”
“These data suggest the potential of semaglutide and similar drugs to fill an unmet need for the treatment of alcohol use disorder,” senior author Klara Klein said in a news release.
The study
The researchers had 48 adults between the ages of 21 and 65 with mild alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms involved in the study.
Participants were included in the study based on the following criteria:
Consumption of more than seven (women) or 14 (men) alcoholic drinks per week
Two or more heavy drinking episodes – four or more drinks for women and five or more for men in one sitting
No history of taking semaglutide or other weight loss drugs
Not currently seeking treatment for alcohol recovery or attempting to curb drinking behaviors
The participants were divided into two groups for the nine-week study – one group received weekly semaglutide injections and one group received weekly placebo injections. The participants also recorded their alcohol intake and general alcohol cravings each week of the study.
In addition, the researchers conducted a lab-based experiment to get an idea of the participants’ drinking habits and their ability to delay drinking. Each of the participants was given the opportunity to have any alcoholic drink of their choice, and if they were able to wait 50 minutes before drinking, they’d receive a monetary reward. At the end of that time, participants would have two hours to consume as much alcohol as they wanted.
This experiment was repeated at the end of the nine weeks to see how the participants’ behavior changed – or didn’t – with the weight loss drugs.
Fewer alcohol cravings
Overall, the use of semaglutide to curb alcohol cravings was successful. The researchers found that participants who took the weight loss drug had fewer heavy drinking days, fewer alcohol cravings, and consumed fewer drinks overall.
Additionally, the longer the participants were on the weight loss drugs, the better their alcohol-related behaviors.
In the second month of the experiment, nearly 40% of those taking semaglutide reported zero days of heavy drinking, and nearly 30% had cut down on how many drinks they had when they opted to drink. By comparison, 20% of those in the placebo group reported zero days of heavy drinking, and about 2% opted to drink less on days they consumed alcohol.
When the researchers conducted the lab-based experiment again at the end of the nine weeks, participants who took semaglutide drank less over the two hours and had lower blood alcohol levels than they did at the start of the trial.
According to Klein, the team hopes that more studies are done on larger scales to “to fully understand the safety and efficacy in people with alcohol use disorder.”