Semaglutide and Asthma: What the ERS 2026 Study Found
A UK records study presented at the ERS Congress found semaglutide associated with fewer asthma attacks and COPD flare-ups. Observational, not peer-reviewed.
By PeptidesBeat Staff
Last reviewed
Research presented at the ERS Congress 2026 in Barcelona (8 September 2026) reports that in UK electronic medical records, people starting semaglutide (the ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy) had “nearly 40% fewer asthma attacks” and “a 20% reduction in COPD flare ups” than those who started sulfonylureas. It was led by Professor Chloe Bloom of the National Heart & Lung Institute at Imperial College London, presented by Dr Bohee Lee, and describes “four parallel studies that each looked at between 20,000 and 22,000 people.” The figures arrive with their status: a conference abstract, not a peer-reviewed paper, reporting an observational association, not a cause, with no absolute rates, baseline risk or number-needed-to-treat published, so they cannot be converted into attacks prevented for anyone.
Pharmacy Times, Drugs.com and HCPLive re-covered the data on 18–19 September 2026; all three return 403 to this host; the release says the finding “needs confirmation in clinical trials,” and asthma and COPD “have not been included as outcomes in GLP-1 drug trials.”
Does semaglutide help asthma or COPD? The short answer
In UK electronic-health-record cohorts, semaglutide initiation was associated with nearly 40% fewer asthma attacks and about 20% fewer COPD flare-ups than sulfonylureas. The evidence is a researcher-reported, observational, non-randomised, non-peer-reviewed conference abstract presented at ERS 2026 (8 September 2026), with no absolute rates published. HCPLive reported no significant association for other GLP-1s, regardless of dose or lung disease; GLP-1s should not be started for lung disease outside prescribing guidance.
Compared with what: the comparator question
The comparator was not a placebo. Sulfonylureas are an active diabetes drug, so both groups were treated. With no placebo arm, semaglutide cannot be separated from the weight loss, blood-sugar control and newer-prescription care that travel with it. The question wire copy skips: is this the drug, or the weight loss and better diabetes control that come with it? The UK Science Media Centre is blunt — the causal framing in some headlines “makes a causal claim that is not supported by this observational study.”
What the numbers can and cannot tell you
“Nearly 40% fewer” is a researcher-reported, not peer-reviewed, observational figure with no absolute rate or baseline risk published, so it cannot be turned into attacks avoided for one person. The Science Media Centre reads the study’s weighted hazard ratio of 0.20 as “an estimated 80% lower hazard,” which sits beside the headline figure; the confidence interval is wide, with the dose-response interval including no difference, so a chance finding stays live — the researchers’ own alternative, as MedPage reports it, is “a statistical anomaly — a chance finding.”
What the study found for the other GLP-1s
HCPLive reports “no significant associations” for liraglutide, dulaglutide or exenatide, stated regardless of dose or underlying lung disease — wording that is HCPLive’s and HealthDay’s, not the ERS release’s. MedPage covers the same comparison with contradictory numbers — exenatide 23%, dulaglutide 12%. The outlets disagree, so neither set is printed as fact or averaged. The release calls it “one of the first” to test whether the effect differs between individual GLP-1 receptor agonists, and says “the effect was strongest with semaglutide.”
What this study does not show
The groups were not randomised, so confounding by indication comes first: people prescribed a newer diabetes drug differ from those on an older one in ways records cannot fully adjust for. Participants were treated for type 2 diabetes, so the findings do not extend to people with asthma or COPD who lack that comorbidity, or to weight-management-only users. Funding and conflict-of-interest disclosures were absent from accessible sources — an absence, not proof none exist.
Frequently asked questions
Does semaglutide help asthma?
At the European Respiratory Society Congress 2026 in Barcelona, researchers led by Professor Chloe Bloom of Imperial College London reported that in UK electronic health records, people who started semaglutide had nearly 40% fewer asthma attacks and about 20% fewer COPD flare-ups than people who started sulfonylureas, across four parallel studies of roughly 20,000 to 22,000 people each. The effect was strongest with semaglutide. No absolute rates were published, so how much this changes the risk for any one person is not known. The finding is an observational, not peer-reviewed conference presentation, not proof that semaglutide causes fewer attacks, and the researchers say it “should not change treatment decisions on their own” and that people with asthma or COPD “should not start GLP-1 receptor agonists specifically for their lung condition outside current prescribing guidance.”
Does semaglutide help COPD?
About 20% fewer COPD flare-ups — researcher-reported, not peer-reviewed, no absolute rate published.
Should I start a GLP-1 for my asthma or COPD?
No. People with asthma or COPD “should not start GLP-1 receptor agonists specifically for their lung condition outside current prescribing guidance.”
Is the ERS 2026 semaglutide study peer-reviewed?
No. A conference abstract, preliminary until reviewed.
Should this change my inhaler or COPD treatment?
No. Asthma and COPD “have not been included as outcomes in GLP-1 drug trials.”
Bottom line
The finding is a hypothesis trials must test, not a reason to ask for a GLP-1: people with asthma or COPD should not start GLP-1 receptor agonists specifically for their lung condition outside current prescribing guidance. Not medical advice.
Sources
All three returned 403 to this host, 19 September 2026.
Educational content, not medical advice. © 2026 PeptidesBeat.