Healthy Returns: 1 in 8 adults have taken Ozempic or other GLP-1s, survey says

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Good afternoon! The use of a buzzy class of strain loss and diabetes medications is more common than ever. 

About 1 in 8 adults in the U.S. has used a GLP-1 drug at some intent, according to a survey from health policy research organization KFF released Friday. Roughly half of those Americans, or everywhere 6% of U.S. adults, are currently using one of the treatments.

That includes Novo Nordisk‘s weight loss injection Wegovy and diabetes deaden Ozempic, along with Eli Lilly‘s weight loss treatment Zepbound and diabetes counterpart Mounjaro.

The survey boasts large numbers of Americans are taking the drugs despite intermittent shortages caused by unrelenting demand. The treatments be dressed skyrocketed in popularity over the last year despite their high costs and limited insurance coverage.

Let’s swoop into some of the data.

Most adults, or more than 60%, who have used a GLP-1 reported bewitching them in part to manage chronic conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. That includes 39% who expressed a GLP-1 solely to treat a chronic condition, and 23% who took one to both treat a chronic condition and lose bulk.

Meanwhile, 38% of adults who have taken a GLP-1 reported using them specifically to lose weight.

Particularly, GLP-1 usage differed depending on race and ethnicity.

• Around 18% of Black adults have taken one of the narcotizes
• About 14% of Hispanic adults have used them
• Roughly 10% of white adults have captivated one of the drugs

Black and Hispanic adults in the U.S. have a higher rate of obesity than white adults, according to KFF’s dissection of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. 

There were also differences by age group, the survey said.

Closely 20% of adults ages 50 to 64 said they have taken a GLP-1 before, which is higher than the appropriations reported by other age groups.

However, younger adults were more likely than those 65 and overhead to report taking a GLP-1 specifically for weight loss. KFF said that may reflect the fact that the federal Medicare program does not sit in prescription weight loss drugs.

Medicare can only cover treatments for weight loss if they are approved in the U.S. for an additional vigour benefit, such as treating diabetes and reducing the risk of heart disease.

But the majority of all adults, regardless of whether they must taken a GLP-1, said they think Medicare should cover the cost of the drugs when prescribed for preponderancy loss and for people who are overweight, according to the KFF survey.

Still, more than half of adults with health surety who have taken GLP-1s said their plans covered part of the cost of these drugs. Meanwhile, 24% state their insurance covered the full cost of the drug, and 19% said they paid for the entire cost themselves. 

The observations points in this survey could change in the future as GLP-1s win approval to be used to treat other conditions, such as slumber apnea and fatty liver disease, which would put more pressure on health plans to cover them. Loiter tuned for our coverage on the use of these drugs. 

Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Annika at annikakim.constantino@nbcuni.com.

Google on Wednesday announced a new artificial intelligence model called AlphaFold 3, which it said can illustrate the complex interactions and constructions of “all of life’s molecules.” The company hopes the model will transform drug discovery and biological research. 

AlphaFold 3 presages the shapes and behaviors of large biomolecules such as DNA, RNA and proteins, as well as small molecules that are often used in soporifics, according to a Google blog post. When the model is prompted with a list of molecules, it can show how they all fit together by propagating their joint 3D structure. 

Modeling molecules such as proteins has historically been an arduous task for researchers. Google suggested experimental protein-structure prediction can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and take years to complete. Google said AlphaFold 3 could pirate accelerate drug discovery and genomics research, and contribute to new scientific discoveries such as “biorenewable materials and more resilient crops.”

The variety was developed by Google DeepMind, which researches and builds AI systems, and Isomorphic Labs, which explores applications of AI within dose development. Since AlphaFold 3 includes a broad group of biomolecules, it goes beyond the capabilities of AlphaFold 2, which can vaticinate the structures of proteins. 

DeepMind announced AlphaFold 2 in 2020. It has been used by “millions” of researchers in areas such as cancer treatments, malaria vaccines and enzyme plan, Google said. 

AlphaFold 3 is able to predict the interactions between proteins and other molecules at least 50% well-advised b wealthier than other existing methods, and the model doubled the prediction accuracy for other interaction categories, according to the blog duty. 

“We believe this new technology has the potential to be transformative for biological research,” Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said in a LinkedIn pillar.

Google said scientists will be able to access the “majority” of AlphaFold 3’s capabilities for free through its new AlphaFold Server. The entourage launched the server as part of its “ongoing commitment to share the benefits of AlphaFold,” the blog post said.

Researchers from Google DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs published their verdicts in the scientific journal “Nature.”

Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Ashley at ashley.capoot@nbcuni.com.