For years, people taking Ozempic or other drugs in the same class for diabetes and weight loss have noticed that the drugs not only curb their desire to eat; for some, they also lead to drinking less alcohol.

Now the first clinical trial - albeit relatively small and of limited duration - has confirmed this.

A study of 48 people with signs of moderate alcohol abuse found that those who took low doses of semaglutide - the generic name for Ozempic - for nine weeks saw a significantly greater reduction in the amount of alcohol they drank, as well as the desire for alcohol, compared with people taking a placebo. 

The results were published Feb. 12 in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, CNN reports.

The findings underscore what numerous analyses of the actual use of so-called GLP-1 drugs, as well as animal studies, had already suggested: If the results are confirmed in larger and longer-term studies, Ozempic and similar drugs that are already extremely popular could help reduce the risks of excessive alcohol consumption.

"We were hoping to see a reduction in binge drinking and craving for alcohol," said Dr. Christian Hendershott, director of clinical research at USC's Addiction Science Institute and lead author of the study. 

"What I didn't expect is that the effect size looks pretty good compared to other medications for treating alcohol use disorders," he added.

Alcohol use disorder, or AUD, affects nearly 30 million people in the United States, according to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. It is characterized by problems stopping or controlling alcohol use despite its negative consequences.

And increasingly, health guidelines suggest that drinking less alcohol or abstaining from it improves health; last month, former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued an advisory warning that alcohol increases the risk of at least seven types of cancer, and calling for an update to the health warning labels on alcoholic beverages.

Experts believe that whether Ozempic and similar drugs represent a new way to treat alcohol dependence will depend on larger studies in patients who are more severely affected by the disorder, and possibly on whether research can lead to a better understanding of how the drugs work to reduce drinking. | BGNES