Any increase in alcohol use is associated with an increase in risk of illness and mortality and consequences of chronic alcohol use include cancer, hypertension, heart and liver disease, and Alcohol Use Disorder. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are effective anti-glycemic and weight-loss medications with a strong safety record. There is substantial preclinical evidence and mounting retrospective and prospective randomized controlled trial evidence that GLP-1RAs could be effective for reducing alcohol consumption. However, the mechanism by which GLP-1RAs reduce alcohol intake remains unclear. While medications that reduce alcohol intake such as naltrexone and acamprosate have central nervous system action, disulfiram reduces alcohol intake through peripheral mechanisms. Here, we test whether GLP-1RAs alter alcohol’s peripheral pharmacokinetics as a potential mechanism of action for their alcohol intake suppressive effects. In this pilot study, twenty participants with obesity in the GLP-1RA or control group consumed a challenge dose of alcohol, and we measured breath alcohol (BrAC) and the subjective effects of alcohol. We observed a delayed rise in BrAC and subjective effects in the GLP-1RA group as compared to controls, that was not explained by nausea. These data provide preliminary evidence that GLP-1RAs could act through peripheral mechanisms to suppress alcohol intake.
These data are in the manuscript preprinted here: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.04.25.25326413
Publisher
University Libraries, Virginia TechCorresponding Author Name
Alexandra DiFeliceantonioFiles/Folders in Dataset and Description
Folder Code - code to analyze all data
File 1_clean_brac_and_subjective_data.R - coded file to clean the data for figure 1. Primarily changes data from wide to long format and calculates AUCs
File 2_figure1_brac_and_subjective.R - code file to create figure 1 and all associated statistics
File 2_figure2_appetite_and_craving.R - code file to create figure 2 as well as all associated statistics
File 2_figure3_blood_sugar_and_nausea.R - code file to create figure 3 as well as all associated statistics
File 3_table1.R - code file to generate table 1
File 4_supplemental_tables.R - code to generate supplemental tables 1 and 2
Folder Data
Folder Derived - derived data created by the file Code/1_clean_brac_and_subjective_data.R
File all_data.csv - all BrAC and subjective data (8 rows per participant). Lines up the subjective timing with the timing of the BrAC measures
File demographics - file with one row per participant. Contains all demographic variables as well as AUC values
Folder Raw - all raw data files
File alcohol_data_AUQ1.csv - Alcohol craving data (column named value gives the craving VAS rating). In long format with 4 measurements per participant
File alcohol_data_pre_post_nausea.csv - Nausea data (column named Nausea_value gives the nausea rating). In long format with 4 measurements per participant
File app_data.csv - Appetite data (column named appetite_score gives the appetite score). In long format with 2 measurements per participant
File brac_subj_data.csv - BrAC and subjective data. Columns with the prefix "Min_" contain BrAC values. Columns with the prefix "subj" contain the subjective VAS ratings. In wide format with 1 row per participant
File sugar_data.csv - Blood glucose data (column named blood_glucose contains the blood glucose values). In long format with 3 measurements per participant
File liking_alcohol_effects_and_taste_data.csv - All the VAS secondary outcomes variables. Liking_1 indicates the liking rating, Bad_effects_1 indicates the rating for bad effects of alcohol, Good_effects_1 indicates the rating for good effects of alcohol, and Taste_1 indicates the rating for the taste. In long format with up to 3 measurements per participant.
File baes_data.csv - BAES outcomes data, data secondary outcomes. value_sedative is the measure for sedative effect and value_stimulative is the value for stimulate effects. In long format with up to 3 measurements per participant
