BACKGROUND: Growing research suggests that glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) reduce alcohol consumption, positioning them as new potential pharmacotherapies for alcohol use disorder. However, human studies examining alcohol consumption measures in generalizable samples have been limited.
METHODS: In this cohort study, we analyzed electronic health records from a large, integrated health care system (Kaiser Permanente Northern California) to examine the association between new prescriptions of GLP-1RAs and change in alcohol use among adults. Propensity score matching was utilized to account for differences in baseline characteristics between GLP-1RA-treated (= 1214) and untreated (= 1063) individuals. Changes in average drinks consumed per week (drinks/week) from baseline to follow-up (up to 1 year) were compared between groups using difference-in-differences (D-I-D) analysis. Stratified analyses examined treatment effect variation by sex, obesity, and baseline alcohol use risk level. n n
RESULTS: Both GLP1-RA-treated and untreated groups reduced their drinks/week from baseline to follow-up (mean change [95% CI] = -1.81 [-2.11 to -1.51] and -1.38 [-1.70 to -1.06], respectively); the group difference did not reach statistical significance (D-I-D [95% CI] = -0.43 [-0.87 to 0.01]). Among individuals with low-risk baseline alcohol use, including 1126 (92.8%) GLP-1RA-treated and 996 (93.7%) untreated individuals, receipt of GLP-1RAs was associated with significantly greater reductions in drinks/week (D-I-D [95% CI] = -0.32 [-0.64 to -0.01]). Treatment effects did not vary by sex or obesity.
CONCLUSIONS: GLP-1RAs may be effective in reducing average weekly alcohol consumption, even in individuals with low-risk use. The small subsample of individuals with high-risk use limited our ability to estimate associations in this group.
GLP-1 Therapies