A large-scale study suggests that GLP-1 drugs could have unexpected mental health benefits, including lower risks of depression, anxiety, and substance use.
GLP-1 medications like semaglutide, widely used for weight loss and diabetes, may also offer unexpected mental health benefits, according to new research.
The large register-based analysis was conducted by researchers from the University of Eastern Finland, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and Griffith University in Australia.
Diabetes and obesity are known to increase the risk of mental health symptoms. At the same time, people with psychiatric disorders face a higher likelihood of developing metabolic conditions such as obesity and diabetes. Scientists have long explored how these conditions are connected and whether medications can influence both physical and mental health.
The study followed nearly 100,000 individuals using Swedish national registers from 2009 to 2022, including more than 20,000 people who used GLP-1 medications.
The risk of substance use was also reduced
The findings showed that GLP-1 medication use, especially semaglutide, was associated with fewer psychiatric-related hospitalizations and sick leave. During periods when participants used semaglutide, these risks were 42% lower compared with periods without GLP-1 treatment. The risk of depression dropped by 44%, while anxiety disorders decreased by 38%.
Semaglutide use was also linked to a lower risk of substance use disorders. Hospital care and sick leave related to substance use were 47% lower during treatment periods. In addition, GLP-1 receptor agonists were associated with a reduced risk of suicidal behavior.
One of the study’s authors, Professor Mark Taylor from Griffith University, said the results were not entirely unexpected: “An earlier study examining Swedish registers found the use of GLP-1 medications to be associated with a reduced risk of alcohol use disorder. Alcohol-related problems often have downstream effects on mood and anxiety, so we expected the effect to be positive on these as well.”
Even so, the strength of the association surprised the researchers.
“Because this is a registry-based study, we cannot determine exactly why or how these medications affect mood symptoms, but the association was quite strong. It is possible that, in addition to factors such as reduced alcohol consumption, weight loss-related improvements in body image, or relief associated with better glycemic control in diabetes, there may also be direct neurobiological mechanisms involved, for example, through changes in the functioning of the brain’s reward system,” says Research Director, Docent Markku Lähteenvuo from the University of Eastern Finland.
Previous research on how GLP-1 medications affect anxiety and depression has produced mixed results, but most of those studies have been relatively small.
Reference: “Association between GLP-1 receptor agonist use and worsening mental illness in people with depression and anxiety in Sweden: a national cohort study” by Heidi Taipale, Mark Taylor, Markku Lähteenvuo, Ellenor Mittendorfer-Rutz, Antti Tanskanen and Jari Tiihonen, April 2026, The Lancet Psychiatry.
DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366(26)00n014-3
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