Ozempic, the asthma buster? Research published earlier this week suggests it’s true.
Scientists in the UK examined the medical records of people with airway diseases like asthma who started taking GLP-1 medications like semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy). Compared to people taking other diabetes drugs, GLP-1 users were significantly less likely to report flare-ups of their asthma or other respiratory conditions, they found. More study is warranted to further assess this potential added benefit of GLP-1 therapy, the researchers say.
“While the findings suggest that some people taking GLP-1 receptor agonists may experience fewer respiratory attacks, this needs confirmation in clinical trials,” said study author Chloe Bloom, a respiratory epidemiologist at the Imperial College London, in a statement from the European Respiratory Society.
Clearer airways?
GLP-1 drugs have significantly changed the treatment of obesity and type 2 diabetes for the better in recent years. These conditions can raise the risk or severity of other health problems, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). According to the study authors, however, there’s been relatively little research looking into whether GLP-1s could improve these respiratory issues.
“We wanted to use real-world health records to investigate whether people with asthma or COPD who started GLP-1 receptor agonists had fewer acute respiratory attacks,” Bloom said.
They analyzed the medical records of UK residents taking a GLP-1 and compared them to people on sulfonylureas, another common class of diabetes medication. They studied four patient groups in total, each containing roughly 20,000 people. And they found a clear difference between GLP-1 and sulfonylurea users in their risk of both asthma and COPD flare-ups.
“The effect was strongest with semaglutide especially in people with asthma, where use of semaglutide appears to be associated with nearly 40% reduction in asthma attacks. Semaglutide also led to a 20% reduction in COPD flare-ups,” Bloom said.
What could this mean?
The team’s work was presented at this year’s annual European Respiratory Society Congress. That means this study has yet to undergo typical peer review, an important part of vetting any new scientific research. And the findings can only show a correlation between GLP-1 and reduced respiratory flare-ups, not prove a direct cause-and-effect.
Indeed, the researchers are careful to note that people with asthma or COPD should not start taking a GLP-1 to address those concerns solely based on their study. At the same time, these findings are intriguing enough to merit more investigation. This should ideally include future clinical trials of GLP-1s and similar treatments that actively track people’s respiratory health alongside their weight and other metabolic markers.
“Obesity and metabolic dysfunction are common in airways disease and are often under-recognized as problems that can and should be addressed,” said Alexander Mathioudakis, chair of the European Respiratory Society’s group on airway pharmacology, in a statement from the society.
Mathioudakis, who is not affiliated with the study, added: “We need clinical trials that include respiratory outcomes, such as asthma attacks, COPD exacerbations, lung function, symptoms and quality of life, to determine whether metabolic treatments could become part of a broader, more personalized approach to managing airways disease.”
Notably, the GLP-1-based drug tirzepatide has already been approved as an effective treatment for one particular airway-related condition, sleep apnea, while GLP-1s in general have shown promise for reducing apnea episodes in people with obesity.
