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TUESDAY, Jan. 9, 2024 (HealthDay Information) — Social media is abuzz with the chance that newfangled weight reduction medication may cut back cravings for alcohol, a brand new research says.
Throughout quite a few Reddit threads, customers of weight-loss medication like Ozempic reported that they felt much less have to drink beer, wine and liquor.
Threads bearing titles like “Did scientists by accident invent an anti-addiction drug?” and “I don’t know if this can be a facet impact however … Mounjaro makes me drink much less!!!!!” tout the weight-loss medication’ potential to assist of us give up consuming, researchers mentioned.
What’s extra, a small research of social media contributors with weight problems discovered that they drank much less and have been much less more likely to binge in the event that they have been on a weight-loss drug.
“These findings add to a rising literature that these drugs could curb harmful consuming habits,” mentioned senior writer Warren Bickel in a Virginia Tech information launch. Bickel is a behavioral well being analysis professor with the Fralin Biomedical Analysis Institute at Virginia Tech in Roanoke.
For this research, Bickel and his staff analyzed greater than 68,000 Reddit posts despatched between 2009 and 2023 that included phrases linked to GLP-1 agonists like Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro and Trulicity.
GLP-1 agonists assist handle blood sugar ranges and cut back the will to eat by mimicking the motion of hormones that the physique naturally releases after a meal, researchers mentioned in background notes.
The medication have been developed and initially accredited to deal with kind 2 diabetes, however stronger doses have been discovered to assist individuals successfully drop extra pounds.
The researchers winnowed down the Reddit posts to greater than 33,600 from practically 14,600 distinctive customers. Of these, about 960 people made 1,580 alcohol-related posts.
Almost 72% of the posts talked about diminished cravings, much less consuming, and different results associated to consuming whereas taking the medication, researchers mentioned.
As a follow-up, researchers recruited 153 individuals with weight problems from numerous social media platforms and quizzed them on their consuming.
A few third have been taking semaglutide (Ozempic or Wegovy) and one other third have been taking tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound). The final third weren’t taking any GLP-1 agonists.
Individuals taking the weight-loss medication drank considerably much less alcohol on common than these within the management group, researchers discovered.
The typical variety of drinks and the chances of binge consuming have been each considerably decrease in individuals taking a GLP-1 agonist, outcomes present.
As well as, these on the medication reported that they felt much less of a buzz from intoxication, researchers say.
“Individuals reported consuming much less, skilled fewer results of alcohol once they did drink it, and decreased odds of binge consuming,” co-author Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, an assistant professor at Fralin Biomedical Analysis Institute, mentioned within the information launch.
Up to now, the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) has accredited solely three drugs to deal with alcoholism – disulfiram, naltrexone and acamprosate. However these medication are solely reasonably efficient, researchers mentioned.
They mentioned extra research is required to discover the potential of GLP-1 agonists to deal with alcohol use dysfunction.
“Though proof supporting the usage of these drugs for alcohol use dysfunction is rising, the sector nonetheless must study significantly extra about them, significantly in figuring out the underlying mechanisms. We plan to contribute to that effort,” Bickel mentioned.
The findings have been lately printed within the journal Scientific Studies.
Extra data
Tufts College has extra about Ozempic and Wegovy.
SOURCE: Virginia Tech, information launch, Jan. 8, 2024
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