Diabetes Medications That Show Promise for Alcohol Dependence

TOPLINE:

Use of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists semaglutide and liraglutide is associated with a lower risk of alcohol use disorder (AUD)-related hospitalizations compared to traditional AUD medications, a new study finds.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a nationwide cohort study in Sweden from 2006 to 2023, including more than 220,000 people with AUD (median age 40 years; 64% men).
• Data were collected from registers of inpatient and specialized outpatient care, sickness absence and disability pension with a mean follow-up period of 8.8 years.
• The primary exposure measured was use of single GLP-1 receptor agonists – commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity – compared to non-use.
• The secondary exposure examined was use of medications indicated for AUD.
• The primary outcome was AUD-related hospitalization; Secondary outcomes included substance use disorder (SUD) hospitalizations, somatic hospitalizations, and suicide attempts.

TAKE AWAY:

• Approximately 59% of participants experienced AUD-related hospitalization.
• Semaglutide users (n = 4321) had the lowest risk of AUD-related hospitalization (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), 0.64; 95% CI, 0.50-0.83) and any SUD (aHR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54–0.85). ).
• Liraglutide users (n = 2509) had the second lowest risk of both AUD-related (aHR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.57-0.92) and SUD-related (aHR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.64–0.97) hospitalizations.
• The use of semaglutide (aHR 0.78; 95% CI 0.68-0.90) and liraglutide (aHR 0.79; 95% CI 0.69-0.91) was associated with a reduced risk of hospitalization for somatic reasons, but had no connection with the risk of suicide attempts.
• Conventional AUD medications demonstrated moderate effectiveness with a slightly reduced but nonsignificant risk of AUD-related hospitalizations (aHR, 0.98).

IN PRACTICE:

“AUDs and SUDs remain pharmacologically undertreated despite the availability of effective treatments. However, novel treatments are also needed as existing treatments may not be suitable for all patients. Semaglutide and liraglutide may be effective in the treatment of AUD, and clinical trials are urgently needed to confirm these results,” the researchers wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Markku Lähteenvuo, MD, PhD, University of Eastern Finland, Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finland. It was published online on November 13th JAMA Psychiatry.

RESTRICTIONS:

The observational nature of this study limited causal conclusions.

DISCLOSURES:

The data used in this study were obtained from the REWHARD consortium with support from the Swedish Research Council. Four of the six authors reported receiving grants or personal fees from various sources outside of the submitted work, which are fully disclosed in the original article.

This article was created as part of this process using multiple editorial tools, including AI. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.