GLP-1s linked to smell and taste impairment in diabetes patients

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Long-term use of GLP-1 drugs for diabetes was associated with an increased risk of disturbances in smell and taste, an analysis of health records found.

Researchers reviewed electronic health records collected between 2017 and 2026 from nearly 900,000 patients with Type 2 diabetes, half of whom used GLP-1 drugs. No one had smell or taste impairments at the start.

Over the next two years, GLP-1 users had an 81 per cent higher risk of developing smell disturbances and a 52 per cent higher risk of taste disturbances compared with patients using other drugs to treat their diabetes, according to a report of the study published in JAMA–Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery.

The findings highlight “the need for closer monitoring and greater public health awareness” as well as for future research to “explore the mechanisms underlying this association,” said study co-authors Jonathan Zontag and Nir Zontag from Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The actual rates of smell and taste disturbances were quite low at 0.37 per cent in the GLP-1 group and 0.22 per cent in the control group.

Still, smell and taste “are subtle but critical markers of systemic well-being,” with smell dysfunction one of the most reliable warning signs of neurodegenerative conditions, according to an editorial published with the study.

GLP-1 drugs that impact “the sensory world that surrounds eating” might also change “the way in which we experience travel, family gatherings, milestones, and the family dinner,” the editorial said.

“For patients with uncontrolled diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or severe obesity, the risk of adverse effects, including sensory disturbance, may be acceptable,” it said, adding that may not be the case for “marginal weight loss or cosmetic purposes.”

By Nancy Lapid

(Reporting by Nancy Lapid; Editing by Bill Berkrot)