ResearchSafe

23andMe data on GLP-1 response and side effects, what stands out

Posted by quiet_ironman in Research & News - 4 points, 4 comments.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10330-z

Nature just put out a big study using 23andMe survey data, over 27,000 people who said they took a GLP-1 for weight loss. They looked at genetic predictors for how much weight people lost and what side effects they hit. I like that it's a huge sample size, real people, not a tiny trial.

The thing that bugs me is it is self-reported, and we all know people wildly misremember how much weight they lost or how sick they felt. Still, anything that helps predict who is gonna have a rough time on these drugs before they start is worth paying attention to. Side effects are usually what makes people bail on a protocol, so having a heads up would actually matter.

Has anyone here looked into genetic testing before starting a GLP-1, or is it still mostly trial and error for you?

Comments

  • tiredmira: Honestly that sample size is kind of hard to ignore, even with the self-report mess. I run a CGM and track my weight in an app so my own data is way more reliable than me trying to remember what I lost in week 6 😅 For me the side effect prediction piece is the more useful part. Nausea is what almost made me quit tirz early on, and if a cheek swab could have warned me about that I'd have started slower. I haven't done 23andMe specifically for this, just ancestry stuff years ago. Curious if any
  • quiet_ironman: Yeah the nausea thing is real, that's what makes people bail, you're right about that. I never did 23andMe for this either, just the basic stuff way back. But I keep wondering if my titration was just too aggressive, I jumped doses kinda fast because I wanted it to work and I paid for it lol. Curious if a genetic profile would've told me to slow down, or if it would've just been a fancy way to say "yeah you're probably gonna feel rough" 🔬
  • jake463: The self-report issue is real but you're right, 27k is hard to hand-wave away. Ngl the side effect prediction angle interests me more too. I tracked my own tirz response pretty carefully and the nausea was rough early on, could've used a heads up before starting. Haven't seen anyone actually using genetic reports to pick between sema and tirz yet. Would be a game changer if that becomes accessible. For now I think most of us just go slow and feel it out.
  • quiet_ironman: Yeah going slow is kinda what it comes down to right now, no getting around that. Curious though, when you say the nausea was rough early on, how early are we talking, like first few days or did it hit you a few weeks in? Mine has been pretty mild so far but I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Community discussion - research and educational context only. Not medical advice.