DR. MARC SIEGEL: Why Ozempic, Wegovy and other GLP-1s could be a magic shot against alcohol abuse

A few years ago, a dear friend of mine was drunk and crashed his car into his house in the Caribbean. Luckily, both he and his house were OK. It was after this that I discovered he suffered from Alcohol Use Disorder and he was started on naltrexone, an opioid antagonist which also decreases alcohol craving.

My friend got better, and soon his drinking was markedly diminished and he enjoyed the last several years of his life.

But sometimes I wonder if he could have done better, as the naltrexone gave him nausea and wasn’t entirely effective. Another treatment is now about to come to a doctor’s office near you, and it’s one you’ve heard a lot about in other contexts, namely weight loss and diabetes. The drug is semaglutide or more commonly known as Ozempic or Wegovy. A new massive study out of Finland and Sweden looking at over 200,000 teens and adults with Alcohol Use Disorder found that they were far less likely to be hospitalized due to substance abuse related conditions if they were taking one of these drugs. This is a big step forward in the world of alcohol abuse.  

DIABETES AND WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS SHOWN TO REDUCE ALCOHOL-RELATED HOSPITALIZATIONS, STUDY FINDS

Alcohol Use Disorder is defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as “a medical condition characterized by an impaired ability to stop or control alcohol use despite adverse social, occupational, or health consequences.” It affects almost 30 million teens and adults in this country and is the most commonly diagnosed substance abuse disorder.

But in terms of alcohol use itself, it is just the tip of the iceberg. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 30% of Americans experience excessive drinking. That opens up the possibility of more widespread use of these GLP-1 drugs which slow stomach emptying and help manage insulin and sugar. Their effects on the brain also appear to help decrease cravings for alcohol.

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In fact, these drugs are starting to look more and more all-purpose, as they decrease inflammation, improve sugar metabolism, decrease hunger and cravings, and according to some recent research, appear to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s Disease. 

 With oral versions of these drugs about to reach the marketplace, their usage is bound to explode further. Revealing these expanded uses will create additional demand, just as we saw with statin drugs (Lipitor, Zocor, Crestor). But lifestyle changes remain as important as ever, and the reasons we are drinking so much as a society must be addressed.

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The COVID pandemic set in motion trends with alcohol use that have persisted. Disruptions in work and school and lifestyle and social isolation have been linked to increased alcohol consumption as people have self-medicated their anxiety with booze. Alcohol sales went up from 2019 to 2021 more than any other time since 1969 and these trends have not been reversed even as the lockdowns have lifted and socialization has increased. People were already locked into new drinking patterns that have persisted. 

This problem cannot be treated with a shot or a pill, no matter how potent. Decreasing alcohol consumption must be a crucial part of a larger effort to make America healthy again.

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