Can new weight loss medications treat depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders? Some like Wegovy, Zepbound might, research suggests

Weight loss has long been linked to improved mental health, but research suggests GLP-1 obesity drugs may help alleviate symptoms of depression, anxiety and more

Results seen in patients’ health records are promising, but formal studies are now needed to confirm the link – which poses a daunting challenge to drug makers

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Mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and bipolar disorder may be treated by certain new weight-loss medications like Wegovy and Zepbound, research suggests. Experts help to explain, as we look at why formal studies are needed to confirm this link. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:15pm, 21 Feb 2024

Add depression to the growing list of chronic diseases that obesity medicines might alleviate.

Signs of improved mental health are showing up in the health records of people who take the broader class of medicines known as GLP-1s, which include Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound.

These drugs can help manage blood sugar or treat obesity by mimicking hormone levels in the body that can affect blood sugar and appetite. Many people who take them experience significant weight loss.

This month, Epic Research, a knowledge-sharing platform for clinicians and other healthcare professionals, said that an analysis of about 4 million patient health records showed that people prescribed a GLP-1 medicine for either diabetes or weight loss were less likely to experience anxiety and depression.

For the 3 million diabetic patients included in the study, the effect held up for nearly every GLP-1 drug on the market, and was most pronounced for those taking Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro, which is now also marketed as Zepbound for obesity.

Wegovy is an injectable prescription weight loss medicine that has helped treat obesity. Photo: Getty Images

It’s an important counterpoint to alarming headlines that European regulatory bodies were looking into reports of suicidal ideation in people taking obesity medicines.