Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 5, 2026

Study of In Vivo Glucose Metabolism in High-fat Diet-fed Mice Using Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) and Insulin Tolerance Test (ITT)
Published on: January 7, 2018
Association between GLP-1 receptor agonist use and substance use disorders among individuals with type 2 diabetes or
Tadesse M Abegaz1, Muktar Ahmed2, Akshaya Srikanth Bhagavathula3
1School of Pharmacy, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, United States.
Objectives:
The current study evaluated the association between glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) and substance use disorders (SUD) in type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Methods:
We conducted a retrospective nested case-control study using the All of Us Research Program data. Cases were defined as diabetes/obese individuals with a new diagnosis of alcohol use disorder (AUD), opioid use disorder (OUD), nicotine use disorder (NUD), or cocaine use disorder (CUD). Control participants were drawn from individuals with diabetes or obesity who had no documented history of SUD. Conditional logistic regression was performed to estimate the association between SUD and GLP-1 RA exposure.
Results:
The study included a total of 22,652 participants in the AUD group, 13,226 in the OUD group, 42,320 in the NUD group, and 9,296 in the CUD group; each group comprised both cases and matched control participants. GLP-1 RA use was associated with a 74% reduction in the odds of AUD (odds ratio [OR] = 0.26; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.20-0.34), a 69% reduction in the odds of OUD (OR = 0.31; 95% CI: 0.23-0.42), a 68% reduction in the odds of NUD (OR = 0.32; 95% CI: 0.27-0.39), a 75% reduction in the odds of CUD (OR = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.16-0.40), and 75% lower odds of any SUD compared with non-users participants (OR = 0.25, 95% CI 0.22-0.30).
Conclusions:
GLP-1 RA use was consistently associated with lower odds of developing SUDs among individuals with type 2 diabetes or obesity. These findings suggest potential for GLP-1 RAs to help mitigate SUD in these populations.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Diabetes Mellitus: Overview and Type I Subtype
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. As a result, the body is unable to produce sufficient insulin, and individuals with...
Diabetes Mellitus: Type 2 and Gestational
Pharmacokinetics in Obese Patients: Drug Absorption and Distribution
Oral Hypoglycemic Agents: Biguanides and Glitazones
Oral Hypoglycemic Agents: Glinides
Glucagon-like Receptor Agonists
GLP-1, when administered in high doses intravenously, triggers insulin secretion, inhibits glucagon release, slows gastric emptying, reduces food intake, and restores normal insulin secretion. However, its rapid inactivation by the...

