GLP-1 drugs and hair loss: Scientists find a genetic link

A new study suggests that the biological mechanism targeted by GLP-1 drugs may be linked to male-pattern hair loss. Men with genetically higher activity of the GLP-1 receptor had about a 7% greater risk of androgenetic alopecia.

Researchers from NYU Grossman School of Medicine did not give participants Ozempic or a placebo and then track the results. Instead, they used Mendelian randomization, a method that uses genetic variants to examine whether a potential risk factor may cause a health outcome.

The team first identified 22 genetic variants associated with higher activity of GLP-1R, a receptor involved in satiety and blood-sugar regulation and activated by drugs such as Ozempic. It then examined genetic and health information from more than 205,000 men to see whether carriers of those variants were more likely to develop androgenetic alopecia.

Earlier research published in the BMJ found that people taking Ozempic had a 40% to 70% higher likelihood of hair loss than patients using other diabetes medicines. That hair loss was generally not permanent, with hair typically returning to normal six to 12 months after weight stabilized. The new findings suggest that GLP-1 activity itself may play a role, rather than the effect being explained entirely by rapid weight loss.

The authors said the same relationship could potentially exist in women, although the study focused on men. They suggested that future patients could be assessed for hair-loss risk before beginning GLP-1 treatment or receive preventive treatment from the outset.