Many of your friends may be getting down to their fighting weight with the help of today's GLP-1 medications, but experts warn weight loss drug users may end up also fighting illnesses they didn't anticipate.
Research presented at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons’ annual meeting suggests that GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may be linked to a slightly higher risk of osteoporosis and gout.
The study analyzed medical records from over 146,000 adults with obesity and Type 2 diabetes, finding that GLP-1 users had a 30% increased risk of osteoporosis and a 12% increased risk of gout compared to nonusers. To put that into perspective, 4% of GLP-1 users in the study developed osteoporosis, compared with a little over 3% of nonusers.
The study came about, per NBC, because Dr. John Horneff, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, said some of his patients taking a GLP-1 developed serious tendon tears after relatively minor injuries.
He wondered if GLP-1s might affect bone and other connective tissue ... and the answer appears to be "yes." However, there's another side to it as experts suggested the rapid weight loss itself that's associated with these medications may contribute to bone health issues. That would make the cure the cause.
Essentially what this means is that further research is needed to understand the mechanisms behind these potential side effects and to optimize patient care when using GLP-1 drugs.
“People are taking these medications, and obviously there’s a tremendous amount of upside,” Horneff said. “But with that, they start to decrease their intake of food and nutrients.”