NPR News

Ozempic, Mounjaro and similar medications for Type 2 diabetes and weight loss could also help people struggling with addiction, according to a new study.

Researchers found that people addicted to alcohol who also had a prescription for Ozempic or similar medications had a 50% lower rate of binging on alcohol, compared to people who were not on the medications. And people with opioid use disorder who were taking the medications had a 40% lower rate of opioid overdose.

The findings appear this week in the journal Addiction.

The impact that these medications appeared to have on reducing addictive behaviors was surprising, says Fares Qeadan, an associate professor of biostatistics at Loyola University Chicago and the study’s lead author.