Recent surveys show that about 12% of Americans are currently taking a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist medication, with as many as 35% of U.S. citizens interested in using them.
With such an increased interest in these medications — including Ozempic , Zepbound , Mounjaro , and Wegovy — researchers have been examining other potential health benefits of these drugs outside of type 2 diabetes management and weight loss . For example, studies have been looking at the use of GLP-1s for reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease , treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and obstructive sleep apnea , and even potential protection against dementia .
Now, two new studies recently presented at the 2026 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) offer insights on how GLP-1 medications might influence musculoskeletal health, both positively and negatively.
This investigation centers on surgical recovery metrics in patient cohorts likely to present with obesity and metabolic disease, reflecting real-world usage patterns of GLP-1 medications.
This analysis used electronic medical record data spanning more than 73,000 individuals, with a 5-year postoperative horizon for risk assessment.
The authors describe ED visits as an important proxy indicator for complications and healthcare utilization, interpreting the association as potentially reflecting improved short-term recovery in GLP-1 users.
The investigators attribute this to possible benefits from improved metabolic control and reduced inflammatory burden, noting that even modest infection risk reductions could bear clinical significance.
They call for prospective investigations to establish or refute causal links and to understand potential mechanisms underpinning the signals.
This finding introduces a potential long-term vulnerability in bone density trajectories that warrants further verification.
The authors describe this as the greatest relative risk increase among the conditions evaluated, underscoring a potential bone mineralization concern with prolonged GLP-1 exposure in the studied population.
The report frames the need for longer follow-up (beyond five years) and mechanistic studies to determine whether GLP-1 therapies directly influence bone remodeling processes or reflect confounding factors related to comorbidity, lifestyle, or concomitant medications.
The bone health signals derive from longitudinal electronic medical records within a diabetes/obesity population, comparing those exposed to GLP-1 medications with those not exposed.
The practical implication suggested by the authors is that GLP-1 therapy could intersect with recovery quality and infection risk in the near term, as well as with bone health risks over several years.