Research presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Barcelona found that semaglutide use was associated with a reduction in asthma attacks of nearly 40%. The work was led by Professor Chloe Bloom of the National Heart & Lung Institute at Imperial College London and presented by Dr. Bohee Lee.

Semaglutide is the GLP-1 receptor agonist sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, prescribed for type 2 diabetes and obesity. Bloom said previous research suggests GLP-1 drugs may have anti-inflammatory effects and may improve lung-related outcomes, but asthma and COPD outcomes have not been included as outcomes in GLP-1 drug trials.

What the records showed

The researchers analyzed electronic medical records from the UK across four parallel studies, each involving between 20,000 and 22,000 people. Every participant had started either a GLP-1 medication or a sulfonylurea, a different class of diabetes drug, which gives the comparison a denominator rather than a before-and-after.

People with airway diseases who received GLP-1 therapies had fewer asthma attacks and COPD flare-ups than comparable patients prescribed other diabetes medications, according to the results. Semaglutide stood out among the drugs examined, particularly in asthma.

Where the numbers land

Bloom said the effect was strongest with semaglutide, where use appeared to be associated with nearly a 40% reduction in asthma attacks, alongside a 20% reduction in COPD flare-ups. That second figure gets less attention than the first, and it is arguably the more interesting one given how few things move COPD exacerbation rates at all.

Dr. Alexander Mathioudakis of the University of Manchester, who was not involved in the research, called it one of the largest real-world studies of GLP-1 receptor agonists and airways disease, and one of the first to examine whether effects differ between individual drugs in the class. He said it highlights the need to consider metabolic health as part of respiratory care.

Limitations

This is an analysis of health records, not a trial, so it establishes association rather than cause. Bloom was blunt that the findings should not change treatment decisions on their own, and said people with asthma or COPD should not start GLP-1 receptor agonists specifically for a lung condition outside current prescribing guidance.

The results were presented at a congress, and Bloom said the signal needs confirmation in clinical trials. Mathioudakis said those trials should include respiratory outcomes such as asthma attacks, COPD exacerbations, lung function, symptoms and quality of life.

Bottom line

The study suggests people who already qualify for GLP-1 drugs because of obesity or type 2 diabetes could potentially see an additional respiratory benefit. Whether that holds up when someone designs a trial to test it is the open question, and until now nobody had been asking it.