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Diabetic and weight loss drug Ozempic linked to lower risk of opioid overdose in new study
It could be the best invention since sliced bread, although it likely has more listed side effects than a bite from Trader Joe’s. The latest Ozempic research suggests that it helps to reduce the risk of drug overdose, along with a host of other potential health benefits.
For weight loss, Ozempic might not be the best semaglutide, but it’s up there in the new GLP-1 medications taking the world by storm. There is also Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound. Mounjaro, a tirzepatide, has also been shown to help people lose weight. And there are certainly ways of managing diabetes that dont involve prescription medications. Health is about balance. Different strokes, different folks. Now, a new study says Ozempic can help those who have an addiction to opioids.
Ozempic linked to reduced risk of drug overdose in new study
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and the National Institute on Drug Abuse recently discovered an association between prescriptions for semaglutides, which include Ozempic and Rybelsus, and lower overdose rates among patients with type 2 diabetes who were also diagnosed with opioid use disorder.
If thats too much word salad, we can break it down.
The researchers took 33,000 people with both type 2 diabetes and opioid use disorder. Over six years, they were prescribed anti-diabetic medications, including semaglutide (which is the active ingredient in Ozempic).
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Other medications prescribed in the study included insulin, (“wonder drug”) metformin, dipeptidyl-peptidase-4 inhibitors (DPP-4is), sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is), and other GLP-1RAs.
They found that among the 33,000-strong cohort, the patients who took semaglutide (Ozempic) had a significantly lower risk of opioid overdose, during the study period.
The United States opioid crisis has already entered its fourth wave
The BBC reports that more Americans than ever are dying from fentanyl overdoses in 2024. It refers to a fourth wave of the opioid epidemic crashing through every community, in every corner of the country.
For the first time, more than 100,000 people died from drug overdoses in a single year. Two-thirds of those were linked to fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid many times more potent than heroin.
Scientists have recently started investigating oxytocin, aka the cuddle hormone, for its potential use in long-term pain management and addiction relief.
Scientists at the University of Florida are searching for innovative, non-addictive options for pain management. They hope that physicians could potentially prescribe, in combination, an opioid and oxytocin as an acute pain management option, while at the same time lessening the likelihood of developing an addiction to opioids.
Maybe semaglutide drugs like Ozempic will play a role in addiction medication, too.
If you’ve been affected by the issues discussed in this story you can contact American Addiction Centers on (877) 686-7688 or Talk To Frank on 0300 123 6600 in the UK.
