People with asthma who started semaglutide had nearly 40 percent fewer asthma attacks than similar patients started on an older diabetes drug, according to research presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress in Barcelona. The same work found about 20 percent fewer flare-ups among people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The finding has not been peer-reviewed. It was presented as conference research, which is an important distinction for anyone reading the headline number and wondering whether to call their doctor.
About 8.6 percent of American adults and 6.5 percent of children currently have asthma, and a substantial share of adults with asthma also carry the obesity or type 2 diabetes diagnoses that make someone eligible for these drugs in the first place. For that overlapping group, this research raises a question worth asking at the next appointment. For everyone else with asthma, the researchers were unusually direct about what it does not mean.
Four Parallel Analyses Built on an Active Comparison
The work was led by Professor Chloe Bloom, clinical associate professor in respiratory epidemiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, and presented by Dr. Bohee Lee.
Using UK electronic medical records, the team ran four parallel studies, each covering between 20,000 and 22,000 people who started either a GLP-1 receptor agonist or sulfonylureas, an older class of diabetes medication. That design matters. Comparing GLP-1 users against people taking a different active diabetes drug is a stronger test than comparing them against people on no medication, because both groups have diabetes and both are being treated.
Across those comparisons, people with asthma or COPD prescribed GLP-1 therapies had fewer acute respiratory events than similar people prescribed the older drug. Bloom said the effect was strongest with semaglutide, especially in people with asthma, where it was associated with close to a 40 percent reduction in attacks, along with a 20 percent reduction in COPD flare-ups, according to the society's account of the findings.
Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy. GLP-1 drugs have been studied for anti-inflammatory effects before, but as Bloom noted, asthma and COPD outcomes were not included in the trials that brought these medications to market. That gap is what the team set out to fill.
The Researchers Drew a Firm Line on Prescribing
Bloom's own guidance was explicit. She said the findings are encouraging but should not change treatment decisions on their own, that "people with asthma or COPD should not start GLP-1 receptor agonists" specifically for their lung condition outside current prescribing guidance, and that while some people taking these drugs may have fewer respiratory attacks, the result needs confirmation in clinical trials.
An independent expert reached a similar conclusion from a different angle. Dr. Alexander Mathioudakis, chair of the European Respiratory Society's Group on Airway Pharmacology and Treatment and senior lecturer in respiratory medicine at the University of Manchester, was not involved in the research. He noted that obesity and metabolic dysfunction are common in airways disease and often under-recognized as problems that can and should be addressed.
He described the work as one of the largest real-world studies of GLP-1 drugs and airways disease, and among the first to examine whether effects differ between individual drugs in the class. He also said it supports including respiratory outcomes such as asthma attacks, COPD exacerbations, lung function, symptoms, and quality of life in future trials of metabolic therapies.
Neither researcher suggested the drugs are ready to treat asthma.
MedicalDaily Evidence Check on the Asthma Finding
This is observational research using health records, not a randomized trial. It can show that two things occurred together. It cannot show that one caused the other.
The specific limitations are worth stating plainly. The findings have not been peer-reviewed. People who receive GLP-1 drugs may differ from people who receive sulfonylureas in ways records do not capture, including how closely they engage with the health system. Weight loss itself improves asthma control, so separating a direct anti-inflammatory effect from the downstream effect of losing weight is not possible in this design. The data come from UK records, and prescribing patterns and patient populations differ in the United States.
No dose-response relationship was reported in the material released with the presentation. The comparison that produced the strongest signal was between drugs, with semaglutide standing out among GLP-1 agents, rather than between higher and lower doses of the same drug.
Current asthma and COPD treatment guidance has not changed.
People with Asthma Who Are Already Candidates
The group with a genuine reason to raise this is narrow: people who already have asthma or COPD and who already meet the criteria for a GLP-1 prescription because of type 2 diabetes or obesity. For them, Bloom suggested these treatments may carry additional respiratory benefits alongside the metabolic ones they were prescribed for.
Everyone else should keep taking their inhalers as prescribed. Asthma remains a serious condition in the United States. CDC counts about 1.4 million emergency department visits with asthma as the primary diagnosis in its most recent national estimate, along with 3,722 deaths recorded in 2024.
Access is its own obstacle. GLP-1 drugs remain expensive, and insurance coverage varies considerably, particularly for obesity rather than diabetes. Anyone denied coverage can ask a prescriber about prior authorization, appeals, and manufacturer patient-assistance programs. Paying out of pocket for a possible lung benefit that has not been confirmed in a trial would be premature.
Worsening breathlessness, increasing reliever inhaler use, waking at night from symptoms or a drop in peak flow should prompt a call to a clinician. Severe breathlessness, difficulty speaking in full sentences, or a reliever that stops working requires emergency care.
Clinical trials that include respiratory outcomes are what both researchers said is needed next. Until those are run and reported, this remains a signal worth studying rather than a reason to change a prescription. MedicalDaily has covered semaglutide's effects beyond weight loss and will report the trial results when they arrive.
Key Questions Answered
What did the research find? In UK health records covering four parallel analyses of 20,000 to 22,000 people each, semaglutide was associated with nearly 40 percent fewer asthma attacks and about 20 percent fewer COPD flare-ups compared with sulfonylureas.
Has this been peer reviewed? No. It was presented at the European Respiratory Society Congress and has not yet completed peer review.
Should people with asthma ask for Ozempic or Wegovy? The lead researcher said explicitly that people should not start GLP-1 drugs specifically for a lung condition outside current prescribing guidance.
Who might reasonably raise this with a doctor? People who already have asthma or COPD and who already qualify for a GLP-1 prescription because of type 2 diabetes or obesity.
Does the study prove semaglutide protects the lungs? No. It is observational. Weight loss itself improves asthma control, and this design cannot separate that from a direct drug effect.
Was there a dose effect? No dose-response finding was reported. The strongest signal was a comparison between semaglutide and other GLP-1 drugs, not between doses.
When should someone with asthma seek urgent care? Severe breathlessness, difficulty speaking in full sentences, or a reliever inhaler that stops working.
