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Nearly half of drinkers who take GLP-1 medications have reported declines in consumption, with the effect higher among those at risk of unhealthy alcohol use, a new Harvard study shows. The work, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, explores an unexpected side effect of GLP-1s used to treat diabetes and obesity.

The drugs' effectiveness, particularly for weight loss, has caused them to skyrocket in popularity and, as use spread, anecdotal evidence emerged about improvements in heart health and mental well-being, and reduced cravings for alcohol among patients.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital worked on the survey with collaborators from Brown, Duke and Brandeis universities and Boston-based RAND Corporation.

The study grew out of work by senior author Haiden Huskamp, HMS' Henry J. Kaiser professor of health care policy, and co-author Alisa Busch, HMS professor of psychiatry at McLean Hospital and associate professor of health care policy at HMS, on the underuse of medications to treat alcohol use disorder.

Anti-abuse medications have existed for decades—disulfiram, the oldest, has been around since the 1940s.

Just 3% to 5% of those with a past alcohol abuse disorder reported using the drugs in a recent national survey, and only 10% of those seeking treatment have received the approved drugs.

"The national surveys show that far and away most people with alcohol use disorder receive no treatment, period," Busch said.

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