Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Alcohol use disorder AUD causes high socio-economic costs and has a detrimental impact on health globally, being considered a key risk factor for non-communicable diseases. In Switzerland, four substances are currently approved for treatment of AUD, with varying effects. Taking into consideration the complex nature of the disease and the heterogeneity of affect patients, it becomes evident that there is need for new treatment targets. A body of preclinical studies provide evidence for the attenuating effects of GLP-1 agonists on addictive behavior in rodents and non-human primates. Furthermore, a few studies have shown a link between GLP-1 receptors and reward related processes in humans, however clinical data are scarce and results remain inconclusive.

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of the SKIP study, a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate treatment with the GLP-1 agonist dulaglutide (Trulicy®) as a new therapy for smoking cessation. In the present analysis, the primary objective was to assess differences in alcohol consumption after 12 weeks of treatment with dulaglutide compared to placebo in smokers willing to quit smoking. We selected patients out of the cohort (n=255) who consumed alcohol at baseline and completed 12 weeks of treatment (n=151). The independent effect of dulaglutide on alcohol consumption was analysed by fitting a multivariable generalized linear regression model with quasipoisson distribution and adjustment for baseline alcohol intake.

Preliminary Results: One hundred and fifty-one patients (placebo n=75, dulaglutide n=76) were included in the primary analysis. Baseline patient characteristics were well balanced between groups. The median [IQR] age was 42 [33, 53] years with 61% (n=92) females. At baseline, patients in both treatment groups consumed 3 [IQR 2, 7] standard glasses of alcohol per week on average. At week 12, patients in the dulaglutide group drank an estimated 29% less (baseline alcohol intake adjusted IRr=0.71; 95% CI 0.52, 0.97; P=0.04) than patients in the placebo group.

Conclusions: These results suggest that participants treated for smoking cessation drink significantly less alcohol after 12 weeks of treatment with dulaglutide compared to placebo. Our data thus contribute to the growing evidence promoting the use of GLP-1 agonists in treatment of addictive disorders.