Researchers found that stopping popular weight loss and diabetes medications, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, can quickly erase their protective cardiovascular benefits, potentially increasing the risk of heart attack, stroke and death.
The study by Washington University in St. Louis, published in BMJ Medicine, followed more than 330,000 American veterans with type 2 diabetes for three years.
The findings suggest that patients who consistently took GLP-1 medications saw an 18% reduction in major cardiovascular events.
But those who stopped treatment for just six months experienced a 4% to 8% increased risk compared to continuous users.
Intervals of one to two years increased that risk by 14% to 22%.
The findings are consistent with separate research from the Cleveland Clinic published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, which provided a more hopeful outlook on weight regain after stopping GLP-1.
The study had a sample size of 8,000 patients and found that those who stopped the medications regained only 0.5% of the weight lost on average after a year, largely because 27% transitioned to alternative obesity medications and 20% eventually restarted their original treatment.
About half of GLP-1 users stop using the drugs within a year, often due to high costs, which can exceed $1,000 a month without insurance, side effects such as nausea or lack of supply.
Manufacturers are trying to alleviate the problem and Novo Nordisk has announced price reductions of up to 50%.
Experts have stressed the need for patients to seek advice from a health professional when planning a transition strategy, which may include alternative therapies and lifestyle modifications to achieve weight and cardiovascular health.
