Weight isn’t the only thing GLP-1 users lose.
Two new studies presented Wednesday in Europe found that hair loss and nail peeling are more commonly associated with patients taking the class of blockbuster drugs increasingly prescribed to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes, including Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound.
One study found that GLP-1 patients reported nail peeling more than four times more often than other people with obesity or type 2 diabetes who had never used the drug. There is also a higher rate of nail discoloration, reported by 46% of people taking GLP-1 compared to 17% of non-users.
A second study found that 50 percent of GLP-1 users reported unusual levels of hair loss, compared to 34 percent of non-users. A decrease in hair volume and density was also reported by 42 percent of participants using weight-loss medications, more than double the 19 percent of those who had never taken them.
Both studies were presented at the annual meeting of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology in Vienna. The researchers cautioned that the findings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Both studies included the same 1,904 participants suffering from obesity and/or type 2 diabetes, including 575 who reported taking GLP-1.
In total, 66 percent of participants in the GLP-1 group reported a nail disorder, compared to 53 percent of participants who did not take medication.
Gn Health
