GLP-1 drugs linked to 17% drop in worker sick leave, new economic study finds - CBS News

GLP-1 drugs could lead to cost savings for workers and their employers by reducing employee sick leave, a new economic study finds. Researchers found that patients who used the drugs, sold under brand names including Ozempic and Wegovy, took 17% less long-term sick leave than people who didn't use the medications. The study defines long-term sick leave as illness-related absences lasting more than 30 days, according to the paper, published this month by the National Bureau of Economic Research.GLP-1 drugs, which are prescribed to people with diabetes or obesity, are known to improve patients' health, including by reducing the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and strokes, research shows."Those events, we'd imagine, would lead to long-term absences from work," Jonathan Zhang, one of the study's co-authors and a professor at Duke University, told CBS News.