Can Ozempic Treat Your Depression? Early Signs Point to Yes
New data suggest that weight-loss medicines might also boost mood. That ought to broaden the discussion of how they’re paid for and prescribed.
A miracle?
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty ImagesAdd depression to the growing list of chronic diseases that obesity medicines might alleviate. Signs of improved mental health are showing up in the health records of people who take the broader class of medicines known as GLP-1s, which include Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly & Co.’s Zepbound.
Formal studies are needed to confirm and understand the effect, but there’s good reason to hope that it’s real. If the data bear out, the potential for these drugs to address not just physical, but mental health must be part of the broader conversation around how and when to pay for them. Thus far, the biggest barrier to the drugs is their cost — employers and state governments have proven cautious about covering expensive drugs that patients may need indefinitely.