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New research has found that GLP-1 medications may be linked to an increased risk of developing gout and osteoporosis<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
People on GLP-1 medications \u201cdecrease their intake of food and nutrients,\u201d Dr. John Horneff told NBC News of his research<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
He found that GLP-1 medications may be \u201cnearly a doubling of the risk of having some sort of bone mineral density issue at five years\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Wildly popular GLP-1<\/a> medications \u2014 which work in the brain to impact satiety and appetite \u2014\u00a0have been linked to an increased risk of developing the bone conditions osteoporosis<\/a> and gout<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are taking these medications, and obviously there\u2019s a tremendous amount of upside,\u201d Dr. John Horneff, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, told NBC News<\/a>. \u201cBut with that, they start to decrease their intake of food and nutrients.\u201d<\/p>\n He was inspired to look into how GLP-1 medications may impact bone health after seeing an increased number of patients with injuries. Dr. Horneff then researched five years\u2019 worth of medical records for more than 146,000 adults with both obesity and Type 2 diabetes. According to the research, which is being presented at American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons\u2019 annual meeting, Dr. Horneff found that 4% of GLP-1 users developed osteoporosis (compared to 3% of those not on GLP-1s), and 7.4% on the medication developed gout (compared to 6.6%).<\/p>\n Stock image of someone getting a foot X-ray \u201cIt\u2019s not huge,\u201d Horneff said. \u201cBut within that data that was put in there, you even saw nearly a doubling of the risk of having some sort of bone mineral density issue at five years.\u201d<\/p>\n Gout, Verywell Health<\/a> explains, is when uric acid crystals form in a joint, most commonly the big toe. Osteoporosis, the outlet<\/a> explains, is a disease where the bones become weaker and thinner. Both conditions can be impacted by diet.<\/p>\n![\"Stock](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/eeac0105199a8f0eade471f231456235.jpeg\"\/)
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