Surprising common medication also reduces asthma and migraines

Weight loss jabs can reduce symptoms of asthma and migraines, research suggests. Two studies presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul found some patients using GLP-1 drugs used inhalers and migraine medication less often.

The first study of 27,000 obese people with asthma in Denmark found a 26% fall in the number of asthma exacerbations and a 14% drop in inhaler use over one year. Dr Kjell Erik Julius Håkansson, of Copenhagen University Hospital, said the benefits seen were comparable to “the very, very expensive, biological therapies that we use for very severe asthma”.

He added: “There's a high chance that the weight loss is a major contributor to these results.

“A common symptom in both asthma and obesity is shortness of breath, and the presence of excess fatty tissue creates a pro-inflammatory state in the body in general.

“As the use of GLP-1 therapies increase, researchers are finding an increasing number of effects outside of weight loss.”

Around 7.2 million people have asthma in the UK, or eight in every 100 people.

The second study of almost 150,000 people in Denmark found that use of triptan medications to treat migraines fell by 7% among women using the jabs for a year. There was no significant reduction among men.

The effect was even stronger among young women aged 18 to 35, who saw an 18% reduction in triptan use.

Researchers said weight loss might reduce inflammatory process in the body linked to migraines, and GLP-1 drugs may also have direct effects on the central nervous system that influence migraine pathways.

Approximately 10 million people in the UK live with migraines and they are more common among women.