Ozempic really IS life-saving, slashing risk of death from ALL CAUSES by a quarter, striking new data shows

Semaglutide, the ingredient in fat-busting jabs like Ozempic and Wegovy, can slash the risk of deaths from all causes by up to a quarter, new data shows. 

Researchers from Harvard Medical School in the US showed obese and overweight people on semaglutide enjoyed a 23 per cent lower chance of dying overall in the three years that followed. 

Meanwhile a separate study led by Australian researchers showed diabetes patients on the drug for just two months had a 29 per cent lower chance of death from heart attacks and strokes. 

The studies are the latest to demonstrate that the fat-busting jabs have a protective effect, but scientists are still unable to pinpoint exactly why.

While the jabs can help patients lose weight and improve their health in general experts say this doesn't fully explain the slash in risk of early death.

In the American study, presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2024, the team looked at data from a semaglutide trial including about 17,500 participants aged over 45 who were either overweight or obese.

Half of the participants received either semaglutide or a placebo.

Over an average follow-up of just over three years, the Harvard researchers found a total of 833 participants died.

But they found participants taking semaglutide had a 23 per cent lower risk of death from any cause compared to the placebo group, the researchers said.

As part of their study researchers also examined deaths from Covid infection specifically, and found those taking the injections had a 15 per cent lower chance of falling victim to the virus than those who had a placebo.  

The authors said the mechanism by which semaglutide was providing its protective effect against death of all kinds remained a mystery. 

But they theorised the drug could potentially be reducing inflammation in the body, which eases the consequences of a Covid infection.  

It comes as a separate study led by Australian researchers, analysing health data from 3,533 patients with diabetes, found those taking the jab had a significantly lower risk of serious heart problems. 

Like the other study, half of the patients in the trial got the drug while the other half received a placebo.

After tracking the patients for three-and-a-half years, they found those taking semaglutide had up to 27 per cent reduced risk of heart failure and a 29 per cent reduced risk of death from cardiovascular problems like heart attack and stroke.

However, like their American colleagues, the authors said the exact mechanism of how the drug was working to decrease risk of heart failure and death was still 'not fully understood'. 

They theorised semaglutide's apparent protective effect might be partly a consequence of people on the drug losing weight, and this improving their heart health. 

But they added the drug likely has some other, as yet not understood, direct effect on cardiovascular health. 

The results of both studies, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, are the latest to find semaglutide could have benefits to heart health outcomes and preventing death. 

Previous results showing similar benefits prompted UK drug chiefs to approve the use of semaglutide to prevent heart attacks and strokes in patents who are overweight earlier this year. 

That decision comes after scientists hailed the results of a trial which showed patients on the medications slashed their chance of suffering these health problems by up to a fifth, and called for their wider application.

UK regulator Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said last year that the weekly jabs should now be offered to obese and overweight adults with cardiovascular disease as a 'preventative treatment'. 

The decision could eventually open the door to millions of more Brits getting the fat-busting jabs.  

The extension of the conditions that semaglutide can be prescribed for in Britain only applies to Wegovy, the formulation of the drug for weight-loss patients rather than Ozempic which remains specifically for diabetes.

Cardiovascular disease accounts for about a quarter of all deaths in UK, equivalent to 170,000 deaths a year or 480 each day. 

The MHRA said conditions for being given Wegovy in these circumstances include having a body-mass-index of 27 or more, which means someone is overweight, and established cardiovascular disease. 

Currently people in the UK can only get Wegovy on the NHS if they have at least a BMI of 30 and health condition related to their weight such as high blood pressure.

The MHRA decision doesn't mean the NHS will prescribe Wegovy on this new basis straight away.

A separate body, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), must rule that using Wegovy like this is a cost-effective use of taxpayer funds.

NICE previously told MailOnline it expects to publish the results of that appraisal next summer. 

Ozempic and Wegovy are hormone mimicking jabs that trick the body into feeling full, helping people lose weight. 

Losing weight already helps reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes however, the reduction in risk observed in the clinical trial was also evident among patients who didn't lose weight.

This suggests the drugs target an underlying biological mechanism that reduces the risk of such events.

Doctors believe this could be due to mechanisms such as improvements to blood sugar, blood pressure or inflammation, as well as direct effects on the heart muscle and blood vessels.

While semaglutide based drugs have been linked to a host of benefits, they, like any medication, carry side effects that vary in severity and frequency. 

​The most common of these are gastrointestinal disorders including nausea, diarrhoea, constipation and vomiting.

But other more bizarre symptoms, such as hair loss, have also been reported among some patients.

Ministers have previously planned to dole the drug to millions of overweight Brits to trim both the country's bulging benefits bill from sick Brits taking time off work.

Despite the hormone mimicking jabs being designed to help overweight patients become healthier there have also been growing concerns about the number of healthy weight patients taking them for cosmetic reasons. 

Some have even needed A&E care after taking jabs in a bid to become 'beach body ready'. 

Young women in particular are believed to be obtaining Wegovy via online pharmacies, who offer them at between £150 to £200 ($200-$250) per month, after providing false information about their appearance and health. 

In some cases, people taking the jabs without legitimate medical cause are thought to be doing so as a result of eating disorders. 

Spiking global demand for the jabs, including among those taking it for cosmetic reasons, has led to some diabetes patients struggling to access supplies. 

It has also led to pharma giant Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic and Wegovy, to enjoy a massive boom in profits. 

Earlier this year the Danish firm revealed it was making £32million per day, as countries grappling with the financial cost of flab fight to get their hands on the jabs.

Analysis suggests that combined sales of the company's Ozempic and Wegovy brands generated it £20.5 billion this year.