{"id":1177596,"date":"2026-08-30T17:44:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T17:44:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1177596\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T17:44:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T17:44:39","slug":"weight-loss-drugs-may-help-with-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1177596\/","title":{"rendered":"Weight loss drugs may help with mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA), commonly known as drugs for diabetes and weight loss, may have additional mental health benefits, especially for people with bipolar disorder, new Griffith University research has found.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Diabetes, obesity, and bipolar disorder often co-occur and may have shared pathophysiology with the latest World Health Organisation data estimating one in 200, or 37 million people, live with bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GLP-1 medications treat diabetes and obesity, but their impact on bipolar disorder is unknown.<\/p>\n<p>  <img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" alt=\"\" style=\"width:219px;height:auto\"  nitro-lazy- nitro-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/cdn-ildedah.nitrocdn.com\/nYYorQKadnvAORgWEyKkpWpwPIyqNOMp\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-14be058\/news.griffith.edu.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_0557_Fotor2-1024x1024.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-87031 nitro-lazy\" decoding=\"async\" nitro-lazy-empty=\"\" id=\"NjEzOjg3Mw==-1\" data-nitro-empty-id=\"NjEzOjg3Mw==-1\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB2aWV3Qm94PSIwIDAgMTAyNCAxMDI0IiB3aWR0aD0iMTAyNCIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxMDI0IiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\"\/><strong>Professor Mark Taylor<\/strong>  <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A large Swedish nationwide study was conducted whereby researchers, led by Professor Mark Taylor from Griffith\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.griffith.edu.au\/griffith-health\/school-medicine-dentistry\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">School of Medicine and Dentistry<\/a>, analysed data from nearly 15,000 people with bipolar disorder who were prescribed GLP-1 medications over a 15-year period.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cPeople with bipolar disorder who were taking semaglutide (otherwise known as Ozempic or wegovy), a type of GLP-1 medication, had significantly lower rates of psychiatric hospitalisation compared with periods when they were not taking GLP-1 medicines,\u201d Professor Taylor said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe findings add to growing evidence that GLP-1 receptor agonists may have benefits beyond diabetes and obesity treatment, and could represent a promising new avenue for bipolar research.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Semaglutide was associated with a 21 per cent lower risk of psychiatric hospitalisation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The study suggested GLP-1 signalling may help to protect the brain by reducing inflammation, cellular stress and other biological processes which have been linked to bipolar disorder.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This could potentially improve mood stability and reduce the risk of relapse.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While semaglutide was associated with reduced psychiatric hospitalisation risk, liraglutide and dulaglutide were not, suggesting the effect may not apply to all GLP-1 medicines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Professor Taylor hoped the research findings would be further tested in a randomised controlled trial.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The paper \u2018Use of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists and the associated risk of hospitalisation in bipolar disorder, from a nationwide cohort, 2009-2024\u2019 has been published in <a href=\"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1111\/acps.70120\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>    <img alt=\"3: Good Health and Well-being\" nitro-lazy-src=\"https:\/\/cdn-ildedah.nitrocdn.com\/nYYorQKadnvAORgWEyKkpWpwPIyqNOMp\/assets\/images\/optimized\/rev-14be058\/news.griffith.edu.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/E-WEB-Goal-03.png\" class=\"nitro-lazy\" decoding=\"async\" nitro-lazy-empty=\"\" id=\"NjU3OjE1Nw==-1\" data-nitro-empty-id=\"NjU3OjE1Nw==-1\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB2aWV3Qm94PSIwIDAgMTUwMCAxNTAwIiB3aWR0aD0iMTUwMCIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxNTAwIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\"\/>    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA), commonly known as drugs for diabetes and weight loss, may have 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