What to know about how GLP-1 medications might fight addiction

What to know about how GLP-1 medications might fight addiction A new study finds that popular GLP-1 drugs used to treat diabetes and obesity show new promise in fighting multiple substance use disorders By JONEL ALECCIA AP health writer March 4, 2026, 6:47 PM The blockbuster GLP-1 drugs that have reshaped the treatment of diabetes and obesity may help prevent multiple substance use disorders — and reduce the tragic outcomes they cause, a large new study finds. An analysis published Wednesday in a medical journal looked at electronic health records from more than 600,000 U.S. Veterans Affairs patients with diabetes. It found that those treated with medications such as Ozempic and Mounjaro were less likely to develop addictions to alcohol, nicotine, cocaine, opioids and other substances than those treated with a different class of drugs. In those already addicted, the GLP-1 drugs were linked to lower risks of hospitalization, overdose and death, according to the study. The new results suggest — but don’t prove — that the weight-loss medications may be able to target the underlying source of cravings that affect the more than 48 million Americans with substance use disorders. “They're actually working against the root cause of all these different addictions,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, the study’s lead author and a chief researcher at the VA St. Louis Health Care System. Here’s what you need to know about the new research published by The BMJ: Previous studies have suggested that the drugs known as GLP-1s, or glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, could reduce addictions by targeting the brain's reward pathways. But those studies have been small and often limited to one substance. For this study, one of the largest to date, Al-Aly and his colleagues analyzed data from the electronic records of more than 600,000 Veterans Affairs patients with diabetes over three years. They compared people who received GLP-1 drugs with those treated with medications that lower blood sug...