The latest issue of Nature Medicine published an observational study in which scientists analyzed the health effects of using glucagon like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) and concluded that 42 health risks decreased and 19 health risks increased. GLP-1RA has become widely popular in the past few years due to its claimed weight loss effects. People are also studying the broader therapeutic effects of GLP-1RA, including the treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, osteoarthritis, and sleep apnea. But some adverse events such as suicidal tendencies and gastrointestinal problems have also been reported. Therefore, it is necessary to further investigate the health benefits and risks of GLP-1RA. The Washington University team in St. Louis analyzed the data of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and studied the relationship between the use of GLP-1RA and 175 health outcomes in 215970 diabetes patients. After comparing with the control population using non GLP-1RA anti hyperglycemic drugs, it was found that participants using GLP-1RA had a lower risk of developing coagulation and cardiac metabolic diseases such as deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, stroke, cardiac arrest, heart failure, and myocardial infarction. They also proposed other potential beneficial effects, including those associated with lower risks of mental illness, epilepsy, bacterial infections, and pneumonia. They also found that the use of GLP-1RA is associated with an increased risk of gastrointestinal diseases such as nausea and vomiting, diverticulitis, gastritis, and abdominal pain, as well as hypotension, syncope, and arthritis. The team emphasizes that the findings are observational and cannot indicate a causal relationship, but these findings help describe the broad health effects of GLP-1RA.