Arillotta Davide, Floresta Giuseppe, Papanti Pelletier G Duccio, Guirguis Amira, Corkery John Martin, Martinotti Giovanni, Schifano Fabrizio
Department of Neurosciences, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health, Section of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy.
Department of Drug and Health Sciences, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy.
Brain Sci. 2024 Jun 20;14(6):617. doi: 10.3390/brainsci14060617.
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is involved in a range of central and peripheral pathways related to appetitive behavior. Hence, this study explored the effects of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) on substance and behavioral addictions, including alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, cannabis, psychostimulants, compulsive shopping, and sex drive/libido. Data were collected from various social platforms. Keywords related to GLP-1 RAs and substance/behavioral addiction were used to extract relevant comments. The study employed a mixed-methods approach to analyze online discussions posted from December 2019 to June 2023 and collected using a specialized web application. Reddit entries were the focus here due to limited data from other platforms, such as TikTok and YouTube. A total of 5859 threads and related comments were extracted from six subreddits, which included threads about GLP-1 RAs drugs and associated brand names. To obtain relevant posts, keywords related to potential substance use and compulsive behavior were selected. Further analysis involved two main steps: (1) manually coding posts based on users' references to the potential impact of GLP-1 RAs on substance use and non-substance habits, excluding irrelevant or unclear comments; (2) performing a thematic analysis on the dataset of keywords, using AI-assisted techniques followed by the manual revision of the generated themes. Second, a thematic analysis was performed on the keyword-related dataset, using AI-assisted techniques followed by the manual revision of the generated themes. In total, 29.75% of alcohol-related; 22.22% of caffeine-related; and 23.08% of nicotine-related comments clearly stated a cessation of the intake of these substances following the start of GLP-1 RAs prescription. Conversely, mixed results were found for cannabis intake, and only limited, anecdotal data were made available for cocaine, entactogens, and dissociative drugs' misuse. Regarding behavioral addictions, 21.35% of comments reported a compulsive shopping interruption, whilst the sexual drive/libido elements reportedly increased in several users. The current mixed-methods approach appeared to be a useful tool in gaining insight into complex topics such as the effects of GLP-1 RAs on substance and non-substance addiction-related disorders; some GLP-1 RA-related mental health benefits could also be inferred from here. Overall, it appeared that GLP-1 RAs may show the potential to target both substance craving and maladaptive/addictive behaviors, although further empirical research is needed.
胰高血糖素样肽-1（GLP-1）参与了一系列与食欲行为相关的中枢和外周通路。因此，本研究探讨了胰高血糖素样肽-1受体激动剂（GLP-1 RAs）对物质成瘾和行为成瘾的影响，包括酒精、咖啡因、尼古丁、大麻、精神兴奋剂、强迫性购物以及性欲。数据收集自各种社交平台。使用与GLP-1 RAs和物质/行为成瘾相关的关键词来提取相关评论。本研究采用混合方法分析2019年12月至2023年6月发布并通过专门的网络应用程序收集的在线讨论。由于来自TikTok和YouTube等其他平台的数据有限，Reddit条目成为此处的重点。总共从六个子版块中提取了5859个主题帖及相关评论，其中包括关于GLP-1 RAs药物及相关品牌名称的主题帖。为获取相关帖子，选择了与潜在物质使用和强迫行为相关的关键词。进一步分析涉及两个主要步骤：（1）根据用户对GLP-1 RAs对物质使用和非物质习惯潜在影响的提及对手动编码帖子，排除不相关或不清楚的评论；（2）对关键词数据集进行主题分析，采用人工智能辅助技术，随后对生成的主题进行人工修订。其次，对关键词相关数据集进行主题分析，采用人工智能辅助技术，随后对生成的主题进行人工修订。总体而言，29.75%与酒精相关的评论；22.22%与咖啡因相关的评论；以及23.08%与尼古丁相关的评论明确表示在开始使用GLP-1 RAs处方后停止了这些物质的摄入。相反，大麻摄入的结果不一，而关于可卡因、致幻剂和分离性药物滥用的仅有有限的轶事数据。关于行为成瘾，21.35%的评论报告强迫性购物中断，而据报道一些用户的性欲元素有所增加。当前的混合方法似乎是深入了解GLP-1 RAs对物质和非物质成瘾相关障碍影响等复杂主题的有用工具；在此也可以推断出一些与GLP-1 RAs相关的心理健康益处。总体而言，GLP-1 RAs似乎可能显示出针对物质渴望和适应不良/成瘾行为的潜力，尽管还需要进一步的实证研究。
