GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic are never out of the headlines for long.They've proven to be very effective for managing weight loss and type 2 diabetes, but questions persist around potentially negative health impacts from these treatments too.A new study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology looks at that second aspect – the possible downsides of these transformative drugs.Past studies have suggested there might be a relationship between GLP-1 drugs and hair loss – in part because it's been mentioned as a side effect by a significant number of patients – but there's not much solid data on any connection.To take a closer look, a team led by scientists at New York University (NYU) Grossman School of Medicine used a genetic analysis technique to stand in for actual drug taking.They found that for men, using GLP-1 drugs could be associated with a 7 percent added risk of losing their hair, if they were already genetically at risk of androgenetic alopecia (pattern hair loss)."Our study provides the first genetic link between GLP-1 use and an increased risk of male-pattern hair loss from androgenetic alopecia, an association long suspected but until now not shown scientifically," says senior investigator Lynn Petukhova, a geneticist at NYU.GLP-1 drugs are designed to mimic the effects of the natural GLP-1 hormone on the gut and brain. (U3240719/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0)The study didn't follow anyone taking GLP-1 medications, which mimic the effects of the glucagon-like peptide-1 hormone. Instead, the researchers used a technique called Mendelian Randomization, where certain genetic variants are used as proxies.In this case, 22 genetic variants were identified that increase GLP-1 receptor (or GLP1R) expression in the blood. People with these variants have increased activity in the same GLP-1 pathways targeted by drugs such as Ozempic or Wegovy.