Semaglutide, the drug sold as Ozempic and Wegovy, may have benefits beyond weight loss and diabetes. A Swedish study found it was linked to a 21 percent lower risk of psychiatric hospitalization in people with bipolar disorder.

The research, led by Professor Mark Taylor of Griffith University, used Sweden’s national health registers. It covered 14,694 people with bipolar disorder who took diabetes medicines between 2009 and 2024.

The team compared each person with themselves, looking at periods when they used the drug and periods when they did not. During semaglutide use, the risk of a psychiatric hospital stay was about 21 percent lower. The risk of hospitalization for a bipolar relapse was 17 percent lower.

Interestingly, two older drugs in the same class — liraglutide and dulaglutide — showed no such link, suggesting the effect is not shared across all GLP-1 medicines.

Researchers think the effect may be biological. GLP-1 receptors are found in the nervous system, and the drug may influence inflammation and brain-cell health.

The study was observational, so it does not prove semaglutide causes the benefit. The authors say a randomized controlled trial is needed to confirm the finding.