{"id":501498,"date":"2026-03-03T16:03:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/501498\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T16:03:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T16:03:16","slug":"drugs-like-ozempic-can-increase-risk-of-silent-health-issue-by-30","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/501498\/","title":{"rendered":"Drugs like Ozempic can increase risk of silent health issue by 30%"},"content":{"rendered":"

A bone-crushing side effect?<\/p>\n

The benefits of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic are myriad<\/a>, from weight loss to improved cardiovascular health to\u00a0potentially preventing dementia<\/a>, lowering the\u00a0risk of depression and reducing the intensity of migraines<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, new research suggests these wildly popular meds could raise your risk of developing a different serious condition.<\/p>\n

\"WomanThe research team found that 4% of GLP-1 users developed osteoporosis, compared with a little over 3% among nonusers, an increased risk of about 30%. Deborah \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

In the new study, researchers found that 4% of GLP-1 users with obesity and Type 2 diabetes developed osteoporosis, compared with a little over 3% among nonusers \u2014 an increased risk of about 30%.<\/p>\n

Osteoporosis<\/a> is defined by a loss of bone mineral density and bone mass, a weakening that makes people with the condition more vulnerable to fracture. An estimated 10.2 million people in the US age 50 and older have it, and about 43.3 million more people have low bone mass, which puts them at high risk for osteoporosis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Researchers also found that osteomalacia, a related condition in which bones soften, occurred twice as often among GLP-1 users.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not huge,\u201d said lead study author Dr. John Horneff, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Pennsylvania, \u201cBut within that data that was put in there, you even saw nearly a doubling of the risk of having some sort of bone mineral density issue at five years.\u201d<\/p>\n

This latest round of research is observational and did not factor in diet, exercise or vitamin supplementation. <\/p>\n

However, the results are consistent with research published last month<\/a> that found an association between GLP-1 drugs and a higher risk of osteoporosis-related fractures in older adults with Type 2 diabetes.<\/p>\n

The Food and Drug Administration currently lists \u201cincreased risk of bone fracture in older adults and women\u201d on its label for semaglutide.<\/p>\n

Why is this happening?<\/p>\n

Women in perimenopause and menopause are particularly at risk due to naturally falling levels of estrogen, a key hormone in the bone remodeling process. When levels fluctuate during perimenopause and then plummet after menopause, bone loss accelerates.<\/p>\n

Osteoporosis is also common among those who experience rapid weight loss.<\/p>\n

\"AThe FDA currently lists \u201cincreased risk of bone fracture in older adults and women\u201d on its label for semaglutide. RFBSIP \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Horneff says that with a suppressed appetite, patients don\u2019t get essential, bone-protective nutrients like vitamin D and calcium from their diets.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are taking these medications, and obviously there\u2019s a tremendous amount of upside,\u201d he said. \u201cBut with that, they start to decrease their intake of food and nutrients.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also suggests that rapid weight loss could affect how the body builds and loses bone, comparing patients who lose a lot of weight in a short amount of time to astronauts in a zero-gravity environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing forcing their bones to hold their weight anymore. A lot of astronauts come back with low bone density. The thought is, these patients, their skeleton was used to maintaining one frame, and then all of a sudden, that\u2019s being decreased.\u201d<\/p>\n

The question of whether the increased risk of osteoporosis is due to weight loss or another mechanism of the drug remains unanswered. <\/p>\n

Experts assert that exercise \u2014 specifically, weight-bearing exercise \u2014\u00a0can help maintain bone mass and slow bone loss. The force exerted on bones during strength training stimulates bone-forming cells to build more bone, making bones denser and stronger.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Watch out for gout<\/p>\n

The study also found that the risk for gout, a type of inflammatory arthritis triggered by a buildup of uric acid in the body, was also 12% higher among GLP-1 users. Rapid weight loss can temporarily raise uric acid levels, which can to explain this increased risk.<\/p>\n

Experts emphasize that the results of this study shouldn\u2019t discourage the prescription of GLP-1 drugs, but rather should encourage providers to offer patients guidance on protein intake, nutrition, physical activity and monitoring of bone health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A bone-crushing side effect? The benefits of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic are myriad, from weight loss to improved…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501499,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[3436,97,243,269],"class_list":["post-501498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-glp-1","tag-health","tag-medication","tag-nutrition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501498\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}