GLP-1s can help many people reach their health goals. They may also be dampening their sense of smell and taste.
People have tracked the odd side effects of GLP-1s. But there hasn’t been much research about how they impact the senses. A new study looked at medical records of adults with blood sugar concerns who didn’t previously have issues with taste or smell. They found that people taking GLP-1s had an increased risk of changes in those senses compared to folks who weren’t taking the drugs.
The study used medical data from more than 430,000 people. On average, they were 57 years old, 55 percent were female and the data came from more than 170 institutions. They were split into two groups: one on GLP-1s, one on other medications. No one changed their medication for the study.
Common changes were that pleasant scents smelled bad or chemical, a loss of sense of smell, things tasting wrong, or having phantom tastes in the mouth when a person had nothing in their mouth. People taking GLP-1s were 48 percent more likely to develop changes in their senses. However, it must be noted that it is a rare side effect, even when the likelihood of it happening is heightened.
Dr. Mir Ali, a bariatric surgeon, was not involved in the study. He said, “I don’t think it should discourage people from taking these medications. The trade-off of getting to a healthy weight far outweighs any changes to taste or smell.”
Researchers believed the reason GLP-1s impacted the sense could be linked to how the drugs are absorbed by the body. “These findings align with evidence that GLP-1 is widely expressed and secreted within the nervous system, supporting potential effects in either the central or peripheral nervous system,” they wrote.
Weight loss can also impact a person’s sense of smell and taste. It usually returns to normal when weight stabilizes.
A study found that a poor sense of smell in older people is linked to a higher risk of developing heart disease. It is also an early sign of dementia. Changes in taste have been linked to Alzheimer’s and heart problems. However, induced changes in senses, like changes caused by medication, may not have the same links. However, some changes in senses can lead to obvious problems. If you can’t taste salt, you may eat enough to impact your blood pressure. If you can’t smell, you could miss the signs of a gas leak or dangerous fire. Those are situations with obvious, non-nuanced cause-and-effect.
