Longer GLP-1 drug discontinuation is associated with higher risk of cardiovascular events

2026/09/27 11:41

Diabetes treatment drug Ozempic (semaglutide) injection pen. This study of 330,000 patients with type 2 diabetes examined the association between GLP-1 drug discontinuation time and the risk of major cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction, stroke, and death. (AP)

[Compiled by Chen Chengliang/Comprehensive Report] GLP-1 receptor agonists, commonly known as "slimming shots", were originally used to treat type 2 diabetes and have been widely used in recent years for their weight loss effects. A large study tracking more than 330,000 people with type 2 diabetes found that longer GLP-1 drug interruptions were associated with a greater risk of major cardiovascular events.

The science news website "Science Daily" reported that this study, led by a team from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and published in the medical journal "BMJ Medicine", analyzed the medication and health data of 333,687 U.S. veterans and tracked them for up to three years. The study subjects all had type 2 diabetes. The researchers compared the continued use, interruption and discontinuation of GLP-1 drugs to observe the occurrence of major cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction, stroke and death.

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The analysis showed that those who continued to use GLP-1 drugs for three years had an 18% lower risk of major cardiovascular events than those who used another type of blood sugar-lowering drug, sulfonylureas. However, compared with those who continued to take the drug, those who discontinued treatment for 6 months and then restarted the drug had a 4% to 8% higher risk of major cardiovascular events; those who stopped taking the drug for 1 year but did not restart it had a 14% higher risk, and those who stopped taking the drug for 2 years had a 22% higher risk.

The subjects of the study were diabetics, not people who simply lost weight.

The study also found that those who had interrupted GLP-1 treatment and then restarted the drug had a smaller reduction in cardiovascular risk than those who continued to use it for 3 years. The risk reduction for those who continued taking the drug was 18%, and for those who resumed taking the drug after interruption, the average was 12%, showing that the longer the interruption, the greater the gap between the risk of major cardiovascular events.

However, this study was an observational data analysis and cannot prove that drug withdrawal directly caused an increase in myocardial infarction or stroke. The average study subjects were about 66 years old and were mainly male. All of them were patients with type 2 diabetes. There was no separate analysis for different GLP-1 drugs or different indications. Therefore, this result cannot be directly applied to people without diabetes who use GLP-1 drugs solely for weight loss.