Diabetes drugs show promise in the treatment of alcohol use disorders

MAIN LINE:

A new study suggests that use of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists semaglutide and liraglutide are associated with a lower risk of alcohol use disorder (AUD)-related hospitalizations compared with traditional AUD medications.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a nationwide cohort study from 2006 to 2023 in Sweden, which included over 220,000 people with AUD (mean age 40 years; 64% male).
• Data were obtained from registers of inpatient and specialist outpatient care, sickness absence and disability pension, with a median follow-up of 8.8 years.
• The main exposure measured was the use of individual GLP-1 receptor agonists – commonly used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity – compared with no use.
• The secondary exposure studied was the use of medications indicated for AUD.
• The primary outcome was AUD-related hospitalization; secondary outcomes included substance use disorder (SUD) hospitalization, somatic hospitalization, and suicide attempts.

TO GO:

• Approximately 59% of participants experienced AUD-related hospitalization.
• Semaglutide users (n = 4321) had the lowest risk of hospitalization related to AUD (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 hospitalization for both AUD (aHR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.57-0.92) and SUD (aHR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.64-0.97).
• Use of both 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 hospitalization for somatic reasons, but was not associated with the risk of suicide attempts.
• Traditional medications for AUD showed moderate effectiveness with a slightly reduced but nonsignificant risk of AUD-related hospitalization (aHR, 0.98).

IN FACT:

“AUD and SUD are not treated pharmacologically, despite the availability of effective treatments. However, new treatments are also needed because 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 findings,” the researchers wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was conducted by Markku Lähteenvuo, MD, PhD, University of Eastern Finland, Niuvanniemi Hospital, Kuopio, Finland. It was published on the Internet on November 13 in JAMA Psychiatry.

LIMITATIONS:

The observational nature of this study limited causal inferences.

DISCLOSURE:

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 the submitted work, which are listed in detail in the original article.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including artificial intelligence, as part of this process. The editors have reviewed this content before publication.