GLP-1s are being linked to fewer serious infections, including TB • Hacker News Board

Re: GLP-1s are being linked to fewer serious infections, including TB

#51

Post by ChaitanyaSai » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 5:26 AM UTC

rglover wrote: post #50

> Using a large database of (deidentified) medical records, the researchers compared the outcomes of people taking a GLP-1 for their type 2 diabetes to people taking other common diabetes drugs between 2017 and 2025. GLP-1 users were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with TB for up to a five-year span, they found. This is incredibly manipulative. So, we're going to ignore all other factors that may have playe…

Yes, p-hacking happens, incentives in academia are increasingly misaligned etc, but I assume that there are competent people and systems to avoid such obvious issues? It's science 101 to avoid spurious correlations. Sure there might be some tricky ones, but if the's obvious one that came to your mind, very good chance it's been accounted for.

Re: GLP-1s are being linked to fewer serious infections, including TB

#52

Post by trhway » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 5:51 AM UTC

yayamo wrote: post #9

master_crab wrote: post #2

Using a large database of (deidentified) medical records, the researchers compared the outcomes of people taking a GLP-1 for their type 2 diabetes to people taking other common diabetes drugs between 2017 and 2025. GLP-1 users were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with TB for up to a five-year span, they found. Both of these studies are observational and retrospective, meaning they can only show a correlatio…

They already do acknowledge socioeconomic (and other confounding factors) in the analysis. The primary analysis they perform is a ‘Propensity Score Match’ which is a technique used specifically to address for confounders in observational studies, and they do report balanced cohorts. Still they write in their discussion “Although we adjus- ted for several available proxies of socioeconomic and lifestyle status, direct…

With so many signs of improvement, even if some of them happens to be just flukes, from so many different areas, it feels like a penicillin moment. And i suppose penicillin also was initially mostly available to the ones with better socio-economy.

Re: GLP-1s are being linked to fewer serious infections, including TB

#53

Post by Alien1Being » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 5:57 AM UTC

I was at a hepatology meeting focussed on fatty liver a couple of years ago, where a well regarded head of hepatology at a major national quarternary referral centre, joked that we should be putting this in the water supply...

Re: GLP-1s are being linked to fewer serious infections, including TB

#54

Post by Melatonic » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 6:01 AM UTC

master_crab wrote: post #2

Using a large database of (deidentified) medical records, the researchers compared the outcomes of people taking a GLP-1 for their type 2 diabetes to people taking other common diabetes drugs between 2017 and 2025. GLP-1 users were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with TB for up to a five-year span, they found. Both of these studies are observational and retrospective, meaning they can only show a correlatio…

I would imagine people going out of their way to take GLP-1 might also lose weight, be more active, and be also likely to eat better. Which I imagine would have a large effect on "germ busting"

Re: GLP-1s are being linked to fewer serious infections, including TB

#55

Post by nerdsniper » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 6:02 AM UTC

david-gpu wrote: post #33

gavinray wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How technical do you want to get? The grey-market price from China, is about $100 for 10 x (30mg/mL, 10mL) vials of Tirzepatide. Semaglutide is cheaper. At the highest dose of 15mg/wk, that's 20 weeks for $100.

Are you sure that it is not 30mg total per vial, with $100 being the price for 10 vials? Because this stuff comes in powder form, not in liquid form, so mg/mL is an odd unit of measurement. Perhaps I misunderstand your comment.

It's 30mg per vial. In addition to that being the going rate for 300mg total...the calculations and final price for 20 weeks match up to 300mg total, not 300mg per vial.

Re: GLP-1s are being linked to fewer serious infections, including TB

#56

Post by faangguyindia » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 6:02 AM UTC

G3nD wrote: post #47

jwiz wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a 100 surplus. By definition it is +100 over maintenance

Last sentence doesn't make sense if this is what OP meant. "Once your maintenance drops, running a tiny surplus of just 100 ..." You don't need to drop your maintenance calories, with or without GLPs, to gain weight as you eat at a surplus.

Your maintenance doesn't need to drop, but it's way easier to end up in a surplus when your maintenance is low.

Re: GLP-1s are being linked to fewer serious infections, including TB

#57

Post by Melatonic » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 6:03 AM UTC

tptacek wrote: post #24

mathgeek wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d be interested to see the data for that claim, since I would imagine a strong correlation between glp use and lower body fat.

I’m sure you can just look up the studies, but note that GLP1s are widely prescribed to people without weight issues —— weight loss itself was originally an off-target effect. I have friends who run marathons who are on semaglutide.

Because they need to medically or it helps athletically ?

Re: GLP-1s are being linked to fewer serious infections, including TB

#58

Post by snovv_crash » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 7:48 AM UTC

joaopbnogueira wrote: post #3

master_crab wrote: post #2

Using a large database of (deidentified) medical records, the researchers compared the outcomes of people taking a GLP-1 for their type 2 diabetes to people taking other common diabetes drugs between 2017 and 2025. GLP-1 users were significantly less likely to be diagnosed with TB for up to a five-year span, they found. Both of these studies are observational and retrospective, meaning they can only show a correlatio…

Or having a lower % of body fat (within healthy limits) is the factor improving a better immune response?

It may be that those without repeated toxic caloric exposure allows the immune system to focus on other aspects.

Re: GLP-1s are being linked to fewer serious infections, including TB

#59

Post by inglor_cz » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 8:14 AM UTC

faangguyindia wrote: post #28

[flagged]

"GLP medications blunt your appetite so you eat less, but you still end up feeling completely drained because your body lacks fuel."

How many people report that? Not that many, AFAIK.

"GLP drugs cannot distinguish between nutrient-dense meals and the junk food binges you are trying to avoid."

This again goes against what people report - aversion to junk food so strong that McDonalds et al. consider this a potential threat to their business model.

Re: GLP-1s are being linked to fewer serious infections, including TB

#60

Post by j4yav » Fri, Sep 04, 2026, 8:22 AM UTC

clickety_clack wrote: post #42

wvenable wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the commenter read the study and found that they did not, in fact, account for that then it would be valid to point it out here. Otherwise, it's just a waste of our time.

By its fundamental design, an observational study cannot account for everything. That is the critique and it is a valid one.

That's true, and it's also one of those factoids that everybody already knows but certain people can't help themselves from bringing up every time it's even tenuously relevant.