Do GLP-1 drugs lower AUD hospitalizations?

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In 227,866 Swedes with AUD, semaglutide (aHR 0.64) and liraglutide (aHR 0.72) use periods had lower AUD hospitalization risk than nonuse—stronger than approved AUD meds overall.

Source

Repurposing Semaglutide and Liraglutide for Alcohol Use Disorder

Lähteenvuo M, Tiihonen J, Solismaa A, et al. · JAMA psychiatry · 2025

doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2024.3599 Read the full paper ↗96 citationscc by

Study at a glance

Design: Cohort — Swedish register cohort with within-individual Cox models of GLP-1 agonist exposure
N: N=227866 · Residents aged 16–64 with AUD diagnosis; GLP-1 users are a subset
Population: Nationwide Swedish individuals with alcohol use disorder (2006–2023 follow-up)
Outcome: Hospitalization for AUD (primary); SUD, somatic hospitalization, suicide attempt (secondary)

Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.

What they did

Built drug-use periods from registers and ran within-individual Cox models comparing GLP-1 agonist use vs nonuse and AUD medications vs nonuse.

What they found

Semaglutide and liraglutide showed the largest AUD/SUD hospitalization risk reductions; any AUD medication only aHR ~0.98; somatic hospitalizations also lower; suicide attempts not clearly changed.

The limits

What it doesn't show

Randomized efficacy in AUD without diabetes/obesity indication, or that all GLP-1 agonists are equal.

Key terms

GLP-1 agonist: Incretin mimetic used for diabetes/obesity (e.g., semaglutide).
AUD: Alcohol use disorder (ICD-10 F10).
Within-individual design: Each person compared across medicated vs unmedicated times.
aHR: Adjusted hazard ratio from Cox models.
PRE2DUP: Method constructing drug exposure periods from prescription data.
Repurposing: Testing approved drugs for a new indication (here AUD).

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Semaglutide AUD hospitalization aHR?

Common questions

Best GLP-1 signal?

Semaglutide aHR 0.64.

Liraglutide?

aHR 0.72.

Approved AUD meds?

Only modest aHR 0.98.

Next step authors want?

Clinical trials.