J Alzheimers Dis

Semaglutide use tied to lower dementia risk in large real-world diabetes cohort

June 26, 2025

Semaglutide may offer neuroprotective benefits in T2DM, particularly against vascular dementia, supporting its potential as a preventive therapy pending further study.

Study details: This nationwide, real-world target trial emulation used electronic health records from over 1.7 million U.S. patients with T2DM. Researchers compared semaglutide with other antidiabetic medications including insulin, metformin, and older GLP-1 receptor agonists over a 3-year follow-up. The primary outcome was first-time diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (ADRD), including vascular, frontotemporal, and Lewy body dementias.

Results: Semaglutide was associated with a significantly reduced risk of overall ADRD. Compared with insulin, the hazard ratio (HR) was 0.54 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49–0.59); vs. metformin, HR was 0.67 (0.61–0.74); and vs. older GLP-1RAs, HR was 0.80 (0.72–0.89). The protective effect was strongest for vascular dementia, with no significant associations observed for frontotemporal or Lewy body dementias.

Source:

Wang W, et al. (2025, June 24). J Alzheimers Dis. Associations of semaglutide with Alzheimer's disease-related dementias in patients with type 2 diabetes: A real-world target trial emulation study. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40552638/