GLP-1 receptor agonist users have significantly higher rates of nail abnormalities

2026/10/04 11:28

The picture shows the administration situation of GLP-1 drugs. The latest research found that users reported a higher rate of nail peeling and discoloration (file photo)

[Compiled by Chen Chengliang/Comprehensive Report] In addition to hair loss caused by slimming injections, nail abnormalities may also occur. The latest multinational research found that 39% of people who used GLP-1 receptor agonists reported nail peeling, that is, the separation of nails and nail beds, compared with only 9% of people in the control group, a gap of more than 4 times.

The medical news website "MedicalXpress" reported that this study was conducted by researchers from the dermatology team of the University of Bologna, Italy, and was published at the 2026 European Association of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) conference. The study compared 575 users of GLP-1 receptor agonists with 1,329 people who had never used these drugs but were obese or had type 2 diabetes in France, the United States, Brazil and Mexico.

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66% of users reported at least one nail abnormality, compared with 53% in the control group. In addition to nail peeling, nail discoloration was also common, accounting for 46%, compared with 17% in the control group. When the researchers further compared subjects who had lost weight, the differences between the two groups persisted, indicating that weight loss alone did not appear to be sufficient to explain all nail changes.

There are also changes in the scalp

Another study of the same group of subjects found that 50% of GLP-1 users reported abnormal hair loss, compared with 34% of the control group; 42% reported a decrease in hair volume or density compared with 19%. Some patients also experienced scalp redness, itching, or scaling, so researchers further investigated whether scalp inflammation was related to these changes.

However, this study can only confirm the relationship between the two and cannot prove that GLP-1 drugs directly cause nail abnormalities. About half of the users said they had nail problems before starting treatment. After adjusting for factors such as skin diseases and nutritional deficiencies, some of the correlations were weakened, but nail peeling and discoloration were still about 2 to 3 times higher than those in the control group.

The study adopted a cross-sectional design, and symptoms were mainly reported by patients themselves. It is not yet a randomized controlled clinical trial. The research team plans to track patients from the time they start taking GLP-1 drugs, and further confirm when these changes occur, possible causes, and whether they will recover through standardized dermatological examinations and biomonitoring.