Ozempic linked with lower dementia risk, nicotine use, British study finds

Novo Nordisk’s popular diabetes treatment Ozempic could be tied to a lower risk of cognitive problems, according to an observational study published by researchers at Oxford University.

The study, published in the Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine journal, explored more than 100 million medical records of the United States (U.S.) patients to see if Ozempic increased the risk of several neurological and psychiatric conditions in the first year of use compared with three common antidiabetic drugs.

The study found Ozempic, or semaglutide, was not tied to a higher risk of any of the neurological or psychiatric conditions studied, such as anxiety or depression, and patients taking Ozempic had lower rates of cognitive decline and nicotine use.

The study helps further lay to rest concerns that treatment with semaglutide – originally designed for type 2 diabetes but now also approved for weight loss under the brand Wegovy – increases the risk of suicidal thoughts.

The findings also suggest that treatment with semaglutide and similar drugs may be associated with a lower risk of dementia and can help reduce nicotine cravings.