A type of medicine used for weight loss and type 2 diabetes has been found to reduce asthma symptoms in obese people, according to an international collaboration led by a respiratory researcher from Aberdeen.

Originally designed for people living with diabetes, GLP-1 medicines have been widely prescribed for obesity have now been linked to improvements across multiple measures of asthma.

Led by University of Aberdeen’s Professor David Price, the research analysed date from more than 60,000 patients to compare measures of asthma severity in patients prescribed GLP-1s to those who hadn’t over the course of a year.

Professor Price said the team found “compelling evidence” that GLP-1s improved asthma symptoms in people with obesity.

The researchers also found use of the medicines reduced steroid and additional asthma medication prescriptions.

Professor Price, who is Chair of the University’s Primary Care Respiratory Medicine, said the improvements to patients’ asthma symptoms came with even modest weight loss:

“People with obesity and asthma are unique in that they are often resistant to steroid treatments.

“We know that GLP-1s work on inflammatory responses in the airways in a different way to traditionally used steroids.

“We found compelling evidence that GLP-1s, as well as increasing weight loss, also improved asthma symptoms.  

“In addition, it is important to note that the benefits to asthma symptoms occurred despite fairly modest weight loss of around 0.9kg over the course of the year.

“Our findings suggest that GLP-1s may have beneficial effects on asthma control for people with obesity and this should be explored further.”

While concerns have been raised over GLP-1s bringing muscle loss as a large part of the weight loss patients see, these findings are the latest in reports of co-benefits reported on the medications.

Designed to help regulate blood sugar and insulin in the body, GLP-1s help control appetite by mimicking naturally occurring hormones.

The drugs are also known to reduce inflammatory cells through multiple signalling pathways.

It is this mechanism that researchers think is involved in reducing airway symptoms caused by asthma.

The research team says their findings mean that GLP-1s should be considered as a potential treatment for respiratory diseases.

Collaborator Professor Alan Kaplan, Chairperson of the Family Physician Airways Group of Canada and the Observational and Pragmatic Research Institute, said:

“Our findings suggest that GLP-1s have benefits on asthma control in people with obesity, and this information should contribute to the discussions around the decision to use these drugs.”

Dr Erika Kennington, Head of Research and Innovation at Asthma + Lung UK, said this research is encouraging, adding to previous findings that people living with obesity see improved control of their asthma when they lose weight.

Dr Kennington added that while it is too early to say whether these drugs would be effective for people with asthma more widely, more investment in research is urgently needed:

“Although exercise can help people lose weight, for some people it can cause anxiety about becoming breathless or having an asthma attack, so people are stuck in a vicious cycle of not being able to lose weight and their asthma worsening. Therefore, where exercise hasn’t worked for someone these drugs that support weight loss could offer a promising alternative.

“More research is needed to understand how these drugs actually improve asthma control. Funding for lung health research is on life support and urgent action is needed to increase investment.”

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