Nearly half of drinkers who take GLP-1 medications have reported declines in consumption, with the effect higher among those at risk of unhealthy alcohol use, a new Harvard study shows.

The work, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry in October, explores an unexpected and head-turning side effect of GLP-1s used to treat diabetes and obesity.

The drugs’ effectiveness, particularly for weight loss, have caused them to skyrocket in popularity and, as use spread, anecdotal evidence emerged about improvements in heart health and mental well-being, and reduced cravings for alcohol among patients.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital worked on the survey with collaborators from Brown, Duke, and Brandeis universities and Boston-based RAND Corporation.

The study grew out of work by senior author Haiden Huskamp, HMS’ Henry J. Kaiser Professor of Health Care Policy, and co-author Alisa Busch, HMS professor of psychiatry at McLean Hospital and associate professor of health care policy at HMS, on the underuse of medications to treat alcohol use disorder.

Anti-abuse medications have existed for decades — disulfiram, the oldest, has been around since the 1940s. But their use was vanishingly small.

Just 3 percent to 5 percent of those with a past alcohol abuse disorder reported using the drugs in a recent national survey, and only 10 percent of those seeking treatment have received the approved drugs.

“The national surveys show that far and away most people with alcohol-use disorder receive no treatment, period,” Busch said. “We have this evidence-based treatment that’s efficacious, so what are the patient characteristics, the clinician characteristics associated with being prescribed or not prescribed these medications?”

Busch, Huskamp, and their team took notice as accounts emerged about reduced cravings to drink among patients on GLP-1s. As reports multiplied and their effect on individuals became clearer, the two wanted to better understand the phenomenon on a population level.

“We wanted to really understand patient perception of this issue, and a large share of people taking GLP-1s are saying they’re drinking less,” Huskamp said.

The current study, supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, surveyed RAND’s American Life Panel, a group of adults from across the nation who are issued internet-connected devices to complete surveys, in March and April 2026. Of 2,009 who completed the initial survey, 368 reported current or past use of GLP-1s, and 242 said they were drinkers when they began taking a GLP-1.

Of those reporting drinking while on GLP-1s, 44.2 percent, or 106, said they consumed less. Most of the rest reported no change, with three saying they drank more.

The survey also asked a single screening question for unhealthy alcohol use: whether at any single time in the previous year the respondent had imbibed enough to be considered heavy drinking — four drinks for women, five for men, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The authors defined that group as GLP-1 users at risk for unhealthy drinking. They found 54.1 percent of that population reported drinking less, 40.2 percent said there was no change, and 5.7 percent — three individuals — were drinking more.

“Because all of the evidence had been anecdotal when we started this study, it was hard to know what to expect,” Huskamp said. “But finding that about half of GLP-1 users who drink reported reductions in their alcohol use after starting the medication is pretty striking.”      

Huskamp and Busch cautioned against leaping to the conclusion that GLP-1s should join other medications approved to treat alcohol-use disorder because the study screened for potentially unhealthy use, not alcohol use disorder — a clinical diagnosis for those whose drinking causes significant disruption to daily life and health.

Also missing from the analysis was evidence of the magnitude of the decline in drinking.

“We weren’t testing GLP-1s for efficacy in reducing alcohol use. We’d need a randomized control trial for that,” Busch said. “We were trying to understand, in a population at higher risk for harmful drinking, is there a difference in their experience of drinking alcohol compared to individuals who screen negative.”

Another significant finding was that the awareness about reduced alcohol consumption among those taking GLP-1s was low. Just 10 percent of all those surveyed said they had heard that GLP-1s might lower drinking.

Those deeper questions about the potential utility of GLP-1s to reduce alcohol consumption await the results of clinical trials — some of which have already begun —designed to answer those questions.

“The evidence isn’t there, but it will be very interesting to watch over the next couple of years,” Huskamp said. “There are trials underway. I don’t expect it to take too long before more evidence starts coming through.”

This research was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.