More than a million people were admitted to hospital in England last year because of alcohol, but new research suggests a surprising solution could be already sitting in millions of medicine cabinets: weight-loss jabs.
The drugs, sold as Wegovy, Mounjaro and Ozempic, have been hailed as a breakthrough in the war on obesity. Now, US scientists have found they may also dramatically curb problem drinking, slashing the risk of alcohol-related hospital admissions by up to a quarter.
“GLP-1 weight-loss drugs may cut alcohol-related hospital admissions by up to 26%, study finds.”
Analysing data from 40,703 people who started taking semaglutide (the ingredient in Wegovy) or tirzepatide (Mounjaro) between January 2018 and December 2024, researchers discovered that those on GLP-1 agonists were 26% less likely to end up in hospital for alcohol-related reasons compared to patients on other diabetes medicines. For those using the drugs purely for weight loss, the risk fell by 32% compared to other obesity medications.
The numbers were even starker for people with pre-existing problems. Among type 2 diabetics with alcohol issues, the jabs lowered the risk of alcohol-related hospital admission by 63%; for obese people with alcohol problems, it was 65%.
GLP-1s work by mimicking a gut hormone that regulates blood sugar and suppresses appetite. Recent studies have hinted they could also curb cravings for alcohol, although the exact mechanism remains unclear.
Writing in the journal BMJ Open, the researchers said the findings “may suggest a potential role” for the medications in treating alcohol use disorder, but cautioned that further research is needed.
Colin Angus, professor of alcohol policy at Sheffield University Addictions Research Group, welcomed the study but urged caution. “This looks like a reasonable study that adds to a growing body of evidence that GLP-1s may reduce alcohol-related harm,” he said. “However, this is a US-based observational study, and newer GLP-1s are expensive treatments, meaning there may well be some important differences between the people taking them and those not taking them. I’d view this as adding a little more weight to the emerging evidence, rather than the definitive word on the matter.”
With more than one million alcohol-related admissions in England in 2023/24 alone, the potential for a widely available drug to cut that number is electrifying – but the final answer, researchers agree, is not yet in.
