Diabetic GLP-1 use linked to increased hair loss risk

Penn Medicine researchers found that people with type 2 diabetes taking GLP-1 receptor agonists were more likely to report head hair loss than comparable patients using other diabetes drug classes. The study, published in The BMJ, compared GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic with SGLT2 inhibitors such as Jardiance and DPP-4 inhibitors such as Januvia. Senior author Yong Chen, professor of biostatistics at the Perelman School of Medicine, said hair loss had been reported anecdotally, but large real-world evidence was needed because clinical trials were not designed to assess the issue.

The researchers followed patients for up to five years. In one analysis of more than 27,000 patients comparing GLP-1 users with SGLT2 inhibitor users, GLP-1 use was associated with a 37% higher likelihood of reported hair loss. In another comparison involving more than 23,000 patients, GLP-1 users were 68% more likely to report hair loss than DPP-4 inhibitor users. Co-author George Cotsarelis, chair of Penn’s Department of Dermatology, noted that weight loss itself is a known trigger for hair shedding, so the effect may be related to GLP-1-associated weight loss rather than a direct drug mechanism. The finding is not a reason by itself to avoid GLP-1 therapy, but it gives clinicians and patients another adverse effect to discuss as these medications become more widely used.