Scientific reportsMay 13, 2025

Effects and safety of GLP-1 receptor drugs on weight and metabolism in women with PCOS

GLP-1 Therapies Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Updated Jan 20, 2026

Abstract

GLP-1 receptor agonists significantly reduced body mass index, body weight, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and abdominal girth in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (P < 0.0001).

GLP-1 receptor agonists led to significant reductions in fasting insulin and glucose levels at 2 hours after an oral glucose tolerance test.
A decrease in insulin resistance, as measured by HOMA-IR, was observed with GLP-1 receptor agonist treatment.
No significant changes were noted in hormone levels or lipid profiles, except for a reduction in HDL cholesterol.
Treatment with GLP-1 receptor agonists was associated with increased reports of nausea, vomiting, and dizziness.
Further research is necessary to assess the long-term effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists on glucose homeostasis and lipid profiles.

Simplified

This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) when compared to metformin and placebo in the management of body weight, glucose homeostasis and hormone levels in women polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). A systematic search of "PubMed", "EMBASE", "Cochrane Library", "Web of Science" and "Google Scholar" was conducted up to October 2024 for randomized controlled trials involving adult women with PCOS treated with GLP-1RAs compared to metformin or placebo. The primary outcomes were changes in body mass index (BMI), body weight, waist circumference (WC), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and abdominal girth (AG). Secondary outcomes included glucose homeostasis (fasting glucose, fasting insulin, OGTT results and HOMA-IR), hormone levels (DHEAS, SHBG, total and free testosterone and FAI), lipid profiles (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL and triglycerides) and safety. GLP-1RAs significantly reduced BMI, body weight, WC, WHR and AG (P < 0.0001 in all cases). For glucose homeostasis, GLP-1RAs significantly reduced fasting insulin, glucose level at 2 h after OGTT, and HOMA-IR. There was also a reduction in HDL. All the other parameters measured were unchanged. In addition, GLP-1RAs increased nausea (P = 0.02), vomiting (0.04) and dizziness (0.03). GLP-1RAs effectively reduced body weight, BMI and insulin resistance in patients with PCOS, although they were accompanied by nausea, vomiting and dizziness. Further studies are needed to explore their long-term effects on glucose homeostasis and lipid profiles.

Key numbers

1.59

Reduction

Mean difference in compared to metformin or placebo.

3.57 kg

Body Weight Reduction

Mean difference in body weight compared to metformin or placebo.

3.07

Increase in Nausea Events

Odds ratio for nausea compared to metformin or placebo.

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Funding

Competing interests

Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethical statement: Not applicable.

PubMed

Effects and safety of GLP-1 receptor drugs on weight and metabolism in women with PCOS

Abstract

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Abstract

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Competing interests

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