Ozempic, Trulicity, Mounjaro, Wegovy: Even if you haven’t personally taken one, you’re probably plenty familiar with the names of the most common GLP-1 injectable drugs.

Usually administered as a daily or weekly injection, these drugs help individuals manage either Type 2 diabetes or obesity. With ongoing research, they’ve also been found to potentially lower other risk factors, such as heart disease and alcohol consumption in some cases.

Recently, a pharmacist and medical doctor at a Florida-based clinical research consultancy set out to examine the link between these glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs), their weight loss effects, and whether polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) patients could benefit from them.

Better known as PCOS, polycystic ovarian syndrome is a common hormone disorder—in fact “the most widely recognized endocrine problem,” the researchers report, “that affects up to 18% of women of reproductive age, [or] up to 5 million women in the United States.” The team adds that the condition is a “systemic, inflammatory, dysregulated steroid state, and autoimmune disease.” (The “dysregulated steroid state” speaks to hormone dysfunction.) These PCOS trends are showing broader effects, as the team cites CDC data showing “the general fertility rate in the United States decreased by 3% from 2022, reaching a historic low.”

The researchers further noted that between 38% and 88% of women with PCOS tend to be overweight, and 50% to 90% have insulin resistance. They add that PCOS shows genetic ties in 70% of cases, results in greater body fat mass, is associated with conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes, affects reproductive health and “worsens … fertility outcomes.” In other words, it’s often hereditary and creates a complicated web of tough-to-manage issues for a woman.

The team’s research, published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Cureus, reviewed 24 pre-existing studies that were focused on PCOS  and GLP-1 drugs. From there, they evaluated how effective GLP-1s might affect weight loss for PCOS patients, as well as any risks.

Though the study reports typical lifestyle changes like physical activity or diet “have not been especially effective” for PCOS patients, the new research observed that combining these changes with medications may have “enhanced” the effectiveness of weight loss in PCOS patients. Because these GLP-1 drugs “inhibit appetite and result in changed eating behaviors,” this results in weight loss “at a greater rate than any other glucose-lowering agents,” they say.

While the researchers noted that treating PCOS with GLP-1s is “an off-label indication,” their analysis found several other benefits related to women’s health:

“Longer exposure to these drugs could potentially give rise to more metabolic improvements,” added the research team. In addition, combining with GLP-1 drugs with the diabetes medication Metformin yielded better results for PCOS treatment than just using Metformin alone.

From the studies examined, the most common negative GLP-1 RA side effects included nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

While acknowledging the encouraging results around these medications, the researchers included a few cautions: Namely, the sample sizes of the studies they reviewed were small, and every individual’s physiology will react to each one of these drugs differently. Also, “The role of these new GLP-1 RAs in PCOS patients appears promising but safety, availability, insurance coverage, and cost must be better evaluated,” they say, adding that these drugs are not indicated for women who are pregnant or trying to conceive.

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Author
Kristine Gasbarre Qaderi
Kristine has spent 20 years writing and editing health, medical, wellness and lifestyle content across digital media, magazines, and books for major publishers. As The Healthy's senior editor, she leads the team of writers and editors covering health-related consumer news, peer-reviewed clinical studies, advancements in medical treatment, and perso...
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Kristine Gasbarre Qaderi