Science

inc.com Scientists Thought GLP-1s Would Improve Happiness and Relationships. The Data Told a Different Story Victoria Salves 3–4 minutes

As GLP-1 agonists become more widely prescribed, scientists are continuing to research their potential side effects. A new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research tested whether GLP-1 use among those with diabetes had an effect on mental health, self-rated health, employment, and marriage. Yet, in a surprising twist, they found that the drugs had no meaningful impact on these categories.

Robert Kaestner, an author of the working paper and research professor at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy told Inc. that much of the previous research on GLP-1’s and mental health is sourced from clinical trials.

That research primarily assessed the “efficacy and safety” of the drugs on mental health in terms of serious illness or adverse drug reactions. “Because the main outcome of GLP-1 use is better glycemic control for diabetics and weight loss for those with unhealthy weight, research naturally focused on these outcomes and on associated use of health care services,” he said.

Yet, in this study, he focused on outcomes related to social and mental wellbeing by analyzing large-scale data between 2012 to 2023 from Medical Expenditure Panel Survey from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series.

The study included 4,284 female participants and 3,672 male participants, between the ages of 25 and 64, who were analyzed separately. Prior research suggests GLP-1s affect men and women differently.

Participants were interviewed five times over a two-year period from 2012 to 2019 and 2023—and nine times over a four-year period between 2020 and 2022. The researchers used those repeated interviews, along with prescription records, to see how the GLP-1s affected mental health, self-rated health, employment, and marriage.

Ultimately, Kaestner said he was surprised to discover that there were no meaningful effect of the medication on these outcomes. However, he did note that there are some limitations that need to be considered.

“We were unable to study more refined and nuanced measures that may be more affected by GLP-1 use such as self-esteem, locus of control, happiness, relationship status other than marital status and relationship satisfaction,” he said.

Another limitation he and study co-author Cuiping Schiman, an associate professor of economics at Georgia Southern University, found was that they could only track participants for one to two years, adding that “it may take a longer time for GLP-1 use to manifest.”

Kaestner said that he initially went into the study with the hypothesis that GLP-1s would impact a person’s self-esteem, demeanor, and social activities. “Based on anecdotes…it seemed like GLP-1s had the potential to affect many other domains of life that are important to wellbeing and happiness,” he said.

The authors noted that future research should continue to investigate broader impacts of GLP-1s. “Widespread adoption of GLP-1 use for weight loss will affect a large swath of the population and the consequences of such use beyond weight loss may be quite important,” they wrote.