Semaglutide and Bipolar Disorder

Posted on September 2, 2026 by Sally-Anne Turner

What Does the Latest Research Show?

It’s not every day that there is a study into how GLP-1s interact directly with complex mental health issues.

However, a recent study from Sweden has looked at the relationship between semaglutide (Wegovy pill and Ozempic) and bipolar disorder over 15 years. Automatically, this study gets extra points for being longitudinal!

Why does this matter? For our team at the Bodyline Clinic, it highlights the growing links between complex mental health conditions and weight loss options. This enables us to expand the people that we can help with our GLP-1 treatments. So, that’s a big plus for us! However, it also deepens the potential link between gut health, mental states and weight gain.

It all seems very complicated at a glance, so let’s break it down a bit.

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Before we get into what the study found and why it matters for the specialised care that we offer at the Bodyline Clinic, let’s delve into what bipolar disorder is.

Now, one thing to note is that this study took place in Sweden. Unlike other countries, which may use the DSM-5, they use the World Health Organisation (WHO) International Classification of Diseases (ICD) system to identify and define mental health issues.

The study identified bipolar affective disorder using the ICD-10 codes F30 and F31 for bipolar disorder. These cover both manic depression episodes and bipolar affective disorder.

For the code F30 (mania), people would have to be presenting with:

1. Elevated or irritable mood, indicative of a mood disorder.
2. Increased energy and activity.
3. Reduced need for sleep.
4. Increased talking/talkativeness.
5. Racing or rapidly changing thoughts.
6. Increased self-confidence or grandiosity.
7. Reduced inhibitions.
8. Impulsive or risky behaviour.
9. In severe cases, this code also covers delusions and hallucinations (psychosis).

With the F31 code (bipolar affective disorder), a person would need to be experiencing:

1. Hypomania
2. Mania
3. Depression
4. Severe depression
5. Mixed episodes
6. Periods of remission

A person who has matched the F31 code may be depressed, showing manic depression symptoms, experiencing a mixed episode or be in remission.

What Did the Study Find?

The research team looked at 14,694 people who were diagnosed with bipolar disorder and were also obese and/or diabetic. These people were identified using the Swedish health register from 2009–2024. That’s where the 15 years of data came from.

Here is what they found in simple terms:

1. 5,200 of these people had used a GLP-1 receptor agonist, which included liraglutide, semaglutide and dulaglutide.
2. The people who were taking semaglutide had a 21% lower risk of psychiatric hospitalisation during the periods when they were taking this GLP-1. This was compared to periods when they had stopped taking it.
3. Statistical analysis highlighted that semaglutide was associated with a 17% lower risk of hospitalisation related to a relapse of bipolar disorder.
4. This effect wasn’t noted in the individuals taking liraglutide or dulaglutide. This suggests that it may be something specific to semaglutide.

So, what is going on with semaglutide and why does it seem to have this impact? In our piece on specialised care relating to mental health, this GLP1 was noted to have the largest impact on people who were diagnosed with depression or anxiety, while taking SSRI or SNRI medication.

Semaglutide—What’s the Mechanism?

To start this part, we need to state that at the time of writing, under the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, or NICE Guidelines, there is no GLP-1 marketed specifically to help with mental health issues.

However, what is being found in research in this area is extraordinarily interesting. As before, the reduction in psychological symptoms seems to occur primarily with Wegovy tablets semaglutide, over other GLP-1’s. But why?

The researchers from the Swedish study noted that a potential mechanism could be the impact that GLP-1’s have on inflammation and cellular stress. But is that found in people who have bipolar disorder?

With inflammation, yes. There is an enormous body of research that highlights a link between bipolar disorder and inflammatory processes. A 2021 study published in Brain, Behaviour and Immunity conducted a meta-analysis of 53 studies and compared inflammatory markers in people who have bipolar disorder versus healthy controls. It was found that those with bipolar disorder had higher levels of:

1. C-reactive protein (CRP): effect size 0.70
2. Interleukin-6 (IL-6): effect size 0.81
3. Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α): effect size 0.49

These suggest immune activation, and interestingly, the levels in the blood were altered based on mood states. Both CRP and TNF-a were elevated during episodes of both mania and depression, but IL-6 was elevated even when people were not showing signs of a mood disorder. So, interleukin may be a trait marker, but CRP and TNF may be more closely linked to active episodes.

The 17% reduction in hospitalisation with semaglutide is impressive. But a 2026 study from a combined Finnish and Swedish cohort assessed 165,000 people diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Long-term injectable antipsychotics, combined with lithium, were found to reduce the risk of hospitalisation by 30%. Clozapine, on its own, reduced hospitalisation by 39%, and clozapine with aripiprazole reduced psychiatric hospitalisation by 58%.

So, while the impact of semaglutide is interesting, it doesn’t really hold weight with many of the medications prescribed for the direct treatment of bipolar disorder.

GLP-1 Research and Mental Health

It’s exciting to see this area of research develop. However, as always (and we may sound boring), caution is warranted. Not with the results, but when wanting to see more data from participant studies.

As mentioned in our piece on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRI’s and GLP-1s, a core issue that exists in a lot of the GLP-1 research is that participants are often excluded from studies if they have extreme or long-lasting mental health issues.

This is why many studies in this area use past data sets, with no current or ongoing research.

As our team at Bodyline is involved in clinical research, we understand why screening participants for underlying health issues is important. Not only for their wellbeing, but also for more accurate data. However, as the data in this area grows, we may note more studies looking at the impact of GLP-1’s on depression, anxiety and even addictive disorders.

How Bodyline Supports People

Have you been rejected for weight loss meds from online pharmacies because of a mental health issue? If so, our team at the Bodyline Clinic may be able to help you.

What sets us apart is that we have a clinical team who are trained to personalise your weight loss journey to your needs. We don’t write a prescription and send you on your way. We look at your clinical history, your lifestyle and tailor your GLP-1 weight loss journey to that, offering you clinical support at every step of the way.

So, if you have a mental health issue and want to try to lose weight with GLP-1s, contact our team today for a free consultation.

FAQs

What is Bipolar Disorder?

Bipolar disorder is a complex mental health issue. It is characterised by changes in mood and energy, ranging from mania (high mood and irritability) to depression, low mood and fatigue.

What Did the Study Find?

The 15-year study looked at rates of hospitalisation for people who have bipolar disorder in Sweden. It compared the rates of rehospitalisation for this condition with GLP-1 usage and found that semaglutide reduced the rates.

Can I take Semaglutide if I have Bipolar in the UK?

There are not many weight loss clinics that will allow people with bipolar disorder to take GLP-1 medications. However, at the Bodyline Clinic, we approach each person’s health individually rather than with a blanket restriction. So, if you want to lose weight with a GLP-1 and have bipolar disorder, contact our team for more information.