People with schizophrenia who were also taking GLP-1 drugs for diabetes had fewer psychiatric relapses in a large study of US health records, indicating another potential benefit from the medicines.

The patients on GLP-1s were 24% less likely to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital than people not taking the drugs, researchers said, and 29% less likely to go to the emergency room for a mental health crisis. They were also less likely to be admitted than those who took other types of diabetes medicine, according to the study published Wednesday in the Lancet Psychiatry journal.

The findings are the first to make a link between powerful obesity and diabetes medicines, such as Eli Lilly & Co.’s Mounjaro and Novo Nordisk A/S’s Ozempic, with the likelihood of schizophrenia hospitalization, said Najmeh Davoodian, an associate research fellow at Deakin University in Australia who led the study.

One potential reason is patients who took the drugs may have found it easier to stay on schizophrenia medicines that can make them gain weight, she said, adding that better metabolic health might support “psychiatric stability.”Doctors will need more studies to be sure of the link and why, Davoodian said.

Originally developed as treatments for diabetes and obesity, GLP-1 drugs mimic a gut hormone and have also shown benefits for a range of disorders linked to obesity such as heart and liver health. They’re now also being tested for brain health, including in studies for alcohol-use disorder.

The researchers analyzed health records for more than 70,000 people with both schizophrenia and type 2 diabetes in the US. People who lost weight on GLP-1s showed the strongest tendency to need fewer psychiatric hospitalizations.