The US government declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency in 2017. In 2023, there were an estimated 107, 543 drug overdose deaths in the US, of which around 81, 083 involved opioids. While effective medications exist for OUD to prevent overdoses, only 1 in 4 individuals receive them, with almost 50% discontinuing treatment within six months. Alternative treatments for OUD are thus needed.
Anecdotal reports suggest that patients taking type 2 diabetes and weight loss drug, semaglutide, have reduced drug cravings. Empirical studies have also reported that semaglutide use may benefit patients with alcohol and nicotine use disorders. The researchers behind the current study thus decided to investigate whether semaglutide also protects against overdoses in patients with OUD.
To do so, they analyzed electronic health records of over 33,000 patients with OUD who also had type 2 diabetes. Just over 3000 patients were prescribed semaglutide, and the remaining 30,000 patients were prescribed other antidiabetic medications. Ultimately, the researchers found that semaglutide was linked to a significantly lower risk of opioid overdose at a one-year follow-up compared to other antidiabetic medications.
“Our findings suggest that it is important to continue studying semaglutide as a possible new treatment for combating this terrible epidemic,” said lead author Rong Xu, Professor of biomedical informatics at Case Western Reserve University, in a press release.
Xu added that the study’s limitations restrict researchers from making a firm causal link. Limitations to the study include potential biases and unmeasured or uncontrolled confounders.
"Results need validation from other data resources and study populations. Further research is warranted to investigate the underlying mechanisms and randomized clinical trials are necessary to corroborate the clinical effects on OUD," concluded the researchers in their paper.
Sources: Science Daily, JAMA Network Open