A large Swedish study found some GLP-1 drugs were linked to lower risk of worsening depression, anxiety and self-harm.

Published in The Lancet Psychiatry, it tracked nearly 95,000 people with diabetes and obesity and a depression or anxiety diagnosis.

Researchers compared periods when the same people were and were not taking GLP-1 drugs, from 2009 to 2022.

Semaglutide, sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, was linked to a 42% lower risk of worsening mental health.

It was tied to 44% lower risk of worsening depression and 38% lower risk of worsening anxiety.

Liraglutide showed smaller benefits, while exenatide and dulaglutide showed no significant associations.

As a group, GLP-1 drugs were linked to a lower risk of self-harm.

The authors say the observational study cannot prove cause and call for randomised controlled trials.

Read the full article for more details on the GLP-1 mental health study.