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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.
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.
GLP-1 medications treat diabetes and obesity, but their impact on bipolar disorder is unknown.
A large Swedish nationwide study was conducted whereby researchers, led by Professor Mark Taylor from Griffith’s School of Medicine and Dentistry, analysed data from nearly 15,000 people with bipolar disorder who were prescribed GLP-1 medications over a 15-year period.
“People 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,” Professor Taylor said.
“The 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.”
Semaglutide was associated with a 21 per cent lower risk of psychiatric hospitalisation.
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.
This could potentially improve mood stability and reduce the risk of relapse.
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.
Professor Taylor hoped the research findings would be further tested in a randomised controlled trial.
The paper ‘Use of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists and the associated risk of hospitalisation in bipolar disorder, from a nationwide cohort, 2009-2024’ has been published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.
