Medication typically used to manage diabetes or obesity may help reduce the risk of worsening depression, anxiety and self-harm, new Griffith University research has shown.
Professor Mark Taylor from Griffith's School of Medicine and Dentistry was part of an international team of researchers which investigated the risk of worsening mental illness in people already diagnosed with depression, anxiety, or both who were prescribed antidiabetic medications including GLP-1 receptor agonists, which include semaglutide and liraglutide.
Research shows people with diabetes have an elevated risk of developing depression, anxiety and suicide compared with the general population, as impaired glycaemic control can be exacerbated by comfort eating and intermittent antidiabetic medication adherence, reinforcing low mood and poor self-worth.
Professor Taylor said the study assessed a cohort of more than 95,000 people with diabetes and/or obesity identified from national Swedish electronic health registers between 2009 and 2022.
"While GLP-1 medications are commonly prescribed for diabetes and obesity, their effects on mental health are unclear," he said.
"The research found these medications were linked to fewer serious mental health outcomes including psychiatric hospitalisation, using sick leave for mental health reasons for more than 14 days, and suicide."
Semaglutide had the strongest association with reducing the risk of worsening mental health by 42 per cent, and liraglutide was associated with an 18 per cent lower risk.
Semaglutide lowered the risk of worsening depression by 44 per cent, lowered the risk of worsening anxiety by 38 per cent, and lowered the risk of worsening substance use disorder by 47 per cent.
"These findings suggest some GLP-1 medications may offer benefits beyond diabetes and weight loss, potentially supporting mental health as well," Professor Taylor said.
The paper 'Association between GLP-1 receptor agonist use and worsening mental illness in people with depression and anxiety in Sweden: a national cohort study' has been published in The Lancet Psychiatry.
