GLP-1 receptor agonist
mg / week
A prescribed incretin drug: semaglutide, tirzepatide, liraglutide, or dulaglutide. The papers assign a weekly or daily dose.
These drugs copy gut hormones that slow the stomach, raise insulin when glucose is high, and cut hunger. Tirzepatide also hits the GIP receptor. The object is the assigned pen at a named dose. Weight that falls afterward is a common path, not a second drug.
Also called GLP-1 RA, semaglutide, tirzepatide, liraglutide, incretin agonist.
Connected relationships
Randomized trial · Contested
GLP-1 receptor agonist→Alcohol intake
Higher GLP-1 receptor agonist decreases Alcohol intake.
In 108 people seeking treatment for alcohol use disorder and obesity, weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg plus usual therapy cut heavy-drinking days by about 14 percentage points versus placebo plus the same therapy (Klausen 2026). An earlier exenatide trial missed that same primary end point.
Randomized trial · Moderate
GLP-1 receptor agonist→Major cardiovascular events
Higher GLP-1 receptor agonist decreases Major cardiovascular events.
In 17,604 adults with overweight or obesity, established heart disease, and no diabetes, weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg cut a first heart attack, stroke, or cardiovascular death by 20 percent versus placebo (Lincoff 2023). Liraglutide did the same in type 2 diabetes (Marso 2016). Oral semaglutide was not worse for that same count (Husain 2019).
Randomized trial · Contested
GLP-1 receptor agonist→Depression
A rise in GLP-1 receptor agonist does not identify a change in Depression.
In 3,377 adults with overweight or obesity and no known major psychiatric illness, weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg did not raise PHQ-9 depression scores versus placebo (Wadden 2024). A later trial in major depression found no change in symptom severity.
Randomized trial · Contested
GLP-1 receptor agonist→Fertility
Higher GLP-1 receptor agonist increases Fertility.
In 28 infertile obese women with PCOS, twelve weeks of low-dose liraglutide added to metformin, then stopped for four weeks, was followed by more IVF pregnancies per embryo transfer than metformin alone: 85.7 percent versus 28.6 percent (Salamun 2018). The file is small and stacked.
Randomized trial · Moderate
GLP-1 receptor agonist→Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)
Higher GLP-1 receptor agonist decreases Insulin resistance (HOMA-IR).
In 1,879 people with type 2 diabetes, weekly tirzepatide cut HOMA2 insulin resistance by about 16 to 24 percent, more than weekly semaglutide 1 mg (Frias 2024). A clamp study found the same direction versus placebo (Heise 2022).
Randomized trial · Moderate
GLP-1 receptor agonist→Kidney disease
Higher GLP-1 receptor agonist decreases Kidney disease.
In 3,533 adults with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, weekly semaglutide 1.0 mg cut a first major kidney event (kidney failure, a 50 percent drop in eGFR, or death from kidney or heart causes) by 24 percent versus placebo (hazard ratio 0.76; Perkovic 2024). Daily liraglutide cut a similar renal composite (Mann 2017).
Randomized trial · Moderate
GLP-1 receptor agonist→All-cause mortality
Higher GLP-1 receptor agonist decreases All-cause mortality.
In SELECT, weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg cut death from any cause versus placebo in 17,604 adults with overweight or obesity and established heart disease (hazard ratio 0.81; Lincoff 2023). Daily liraglutide did the same in type 2 diabetes (Marso 2016).
Randomized trial · Moderate
GLP-1 receptor agonist→Obstructive sleep apnea
Higher GLP-1 receptor agonist decreases Obstructive sleep apnea.
In two 52-week trials of adults with obesity and moderate-to-severe sleep apnea, weekly tirzepatide cut the apnea-hypopnea index by about 20 to 24 events per hour versus placebo (Malhotra, Grunstein, Fietze 2024).
Randomized trial · Moderate
GLP-1 receptor agonist→Muscle strength
Higher GLP-1 receptor agonist decreases Muscle strength.
In 160 adults with obesity who sat for a DXA scan in SURMOUNT-1, weekly tirzepatide cut lean mass by 10.9 percent versus 2.6 percent on placebo (Look 2025). About a quarter of the lost weight was lean on both arms. Fat mass fell more.
Randomized trial · Moderate
GLP-1 receptor agonist→Wellbeing / quality of life
Higher GLP-1 receptor agonist increases Wellbeing / quality of life.
In the STEP 1 trial of weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg, more people crossed a meaningful threshold on the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life physical-function scale than on placebo: 51.8 percent versus 28.3 percent (Rubino 2024). The same direction showed up on SF-36 physical functioning.
Sources
- MK Klausen et al. (2026). Once-weekly semaglutide versus placebo in patients with alcohol use disorder and comorbid obesity: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
- CS Hendershot et al. (2025). Once-Weekly Semaglutide in Adults With Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
- MK Klausen et al. (2022). Exenatide once weekly for alcohol use disorder investigated in a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial.
- JP Schacht et al. (2026). Oral Semaglutide for Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
- L Probst et al. (2023). Effects of dulaglutide on alcohol consumption during smoking cessation.
- AM Lincoff et al. (2023). Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Obesity without Diabetes.
- SP Marso et al. (2016). Liraglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes.
- M Husain et al. (2019). Oral Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.
- TA Wadden et al. (2024). Psychiatric Safety of Semaglutide for Weight Management in People Without Known Major Psychopathology: Post Hoc Analysis of the STEP 1, 2, 3, and 5 Trials.
- S Badulescu et al. (2026). Semaglutide for the treatment of cognitive dysfunction in major depressive disorder: A randomized clinical trial.
- V Salamun et al. (2018). Liraglutide increases IVF pregnancy rates in obese PCOS women with poor response to first-line reproductive treatments: a pilot randomized study.
- M Nylander et al. (2018). Effects of liraglutide on ovarian dysfunction in polycystic ovary syndrome: a randomized clinical trial.
- H Chen et al. (2025). Effects of combined metformin and semaglutide therapy on body weight, metabolic parameters, and reproductive outcomes in overweight/obese women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a prospective, randomized, controlled, open-label clinical trial.
- N Gregorič et al. (2025). Semaglutide improved sperm morphology in obese men with type 2 diabetes mellitus and functional hypogonadism.
- T Heise et al. (2022). Effects of subcutaneous tirzepatide versus placebo or semaglutide on pancreatic islet function and insulin sensitivity in adults with type 2 diabetes: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, parallel-arm, phase 1 clinical trial.
- KJ Mather et al. (2024). Effects of Tirzepatide vs Semaglutide on β-Cell Function, Insulin Sensitivity, and Glucose Control During a Meal Test.
- JP Frias et al. (2024). Tirzepatide Improved Markers of Islet Cell Function and Insulin Sensitivity in People With T2D (SURPASS-2).
- MN Kosiborod et al. (2023). Semaglutide improves cardiometabolic risk factors in adults with overweight or obesity: STEP 1 and 4 exploratory analyses.
- V Perkovic et al. (2024). Effects of Semaglutide on Chronic Kidney Disease in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes.
- JFE Mann et al. (2017). Liraglutide and Renal Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes.
- AM Shaman et al. (2022). Effect of the Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists Semaglutide and Liraglutide on Kidney Outcomes in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes: Pooled Analysis of SUSTAIN 6 and LEADER.
- A Malhotra et al. (2024). Tirzepatide for the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Obesity.
- A Malhotra et al. (2025). Tirzepatide for sleep-disordered breathing in SURMOUNT-OSA: Time course and association with body weight.
- B Falcon et al. (2026). Association of tirzepatide with changes in OSA-related measures based on baseline characteristics - post hoc analyses of SURMOUNT-OSA.
- M Look et al. (2025). Body composition changes during weight reduction with tirzepatide in the SURMOUNT-1 study of adults with obesity or overweight.
- RJ McCrimmon et al. (2021). Effects of once-weekly semaglutide vs once-daily canagliflozin on body composition in type 2 diabetes: a substudy of the SUSTAIN 8 randomised controlled clinical trial.
- D Rubino et al. (2024). Effect of semaglutide 2.4 mg on physical functioning and weight- and health-related quality of life in adults with overweight or obesity: Patient-reported outcomes from the STEP 1-4 trials.
- S Wharton et al. (2025). Oral Semaglutide at a Dose of 25 mg in Adults with Overweight or Obesity.