Another Benefit of GLP-1s: Lower Risk of Cirrhosis Among Those With Diabetes and MASLD

It seems like a day doesn’t go by without another positive finding for the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptoragonist drugs, a class that includes Ozempic (semaglutide) and Wegovy (semaglutide when it is sold for weight loss).

Today is no exception. According to a findings from a large, retrospective reported today in JAMA Internal Medicine, GLP-1s reduced risk of developing cirrhosis among patients with diabetes and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) relative to those using dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors (DPP-4is) by 14%. The DPP-4is include DPP-4is Januvia (sitagliptin) and Tradjenta (linagliptin).

The GLP-1s were associated with a protective effect for a number of secondary outcomes, including a composite outcome of cirrhosis outcome (22% less risk compared to DPP-4i use) and mortality (an 11% difference).

The difference between the GLP-1s and the DPP-4is emerged between 18 to 24 months after patients started taking the medications and increased as time went on, according to the research findings.

But the advantage of the GLP-1s over the DPP-4is did not extend to those who already had cirrhosis. Corresponding author Fasiha Kanwal, M.D., M.S.H.S., of Baylor College of Medicine and his colleagues did not find lower rates of more serious liver disease or hepatocellular cancer among GLP-1s users compared to DPP-4is users among those had cirrhosis when they started taking the medications.