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Ozempic, Mounjaro and other GLP-1 medications have transformed treatment for diabetes and obesity. But could they also change how people smell and taste?
Brothers Jonathan and Nir Zontag, researchers at the Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO), set out to investigate that question. Their latest study, published in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, examines a potential side effect of medications now used by millions of people.
As the researchers noted, “little is known regarding their potential impact on smell and taste perception.”
To investigate, the brothers analyzed electronic health records from a large international database, comparing 438,474 adults with type 2 diabetes who used GLP-1 medications with an equally sized matched group treated with other diabetes medications.
According to the study, patients taking GLP-1 drugs were more likely to develop new smell and taste disturbances during the two-year study period, although the overall occurrence remained low.
That distinction matters. The findings do not mean patients should stop taking GLP-1 medications; the drugs have well-established benefits for diabetes and cardiometabolic health. Instead, the research identifies another potential effect for patients and physicians to discuss.
“Clinicians and patients should be aware of the potential smell and taste disturbances among GLP-1 RA users,” the researchers wrote in the study. They emphasized that more research is needed, writing that “future research is required to validate these findings” and better understand the biological mechanisms involved.
For Jonathan and Nir Zontag, the study adds to growing research on the broader effects of GLP-1 medications and may help physicians and patients better understand a potential side effect of treatments used by millions of people.
