Glucose-Lowering Drug Semaglutide May Reduce Bipolar Hospitalizations

A Swedish nationwide study led by Griffith University found that bipolar patients using semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) had a 21% lower risk of psychiatric hospitalization compared to periods without GLP-1 medications, with the effect not observed for other GLP-1 drugs like liraglutide or dulaglutide. The researchers suggest potential brain-wide benefits beyond metabolism, possibly via anti-inflammatory or cellular-stress pathways, and call for randomized trials to confirm whether semaglutide could become part of bipolar care to reduce relapse risk.