As GLP-1 usage becomes more mainstream, a range of side effects have been reported both clinically and anecdotally, from nausea and diarrhea, to hair loss. A new study flags yet another potential repercussion of using a GLP-1: detached nail beds.
The study, which was presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress 2026, compared health data from 575 people in the U.S., France, Brazil, and Mexico who used GLP-1 receptor agonists like semaglutide (Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound) to 1,329 people with type 2 diabetes or obesity who had never used the medications.
The researchers discovered that 66% of people who used a GLP-1 medication reported having at least one nail disorder, a 13% uptick from people who had never used this medication class. Those complications included nail detachment (also known as onycholysis, which is when the nail separates from the nail bed, per the Cleveland Clinic) which impacted 39% of GLP-1 users and 9% of controls. Nail discoloration affected 46% of GLP-1 users vs. 17% of controls.
The study didn’t prove that GLP-1 medications directly caused these nail health complications. Rather, it found a link. “Until now, nail changes associated with GLP-1 therapies had essentially been anecdotal,” study co-author Charles Taïeb, MD, a dermatologist at Necker University Hospital in Paris, said in a statement. “Our findings show a clear association, but they also underline an important point: Not everything that happens during GLP-1 treatment is necessarily caused by the treatment itself.”
Still, dermatologists and a doctor who prescribes GLP-1s tell Allure they’ve seen this before.
Why GLP-1s may lead to nail detachment.
Many of the side effects that can come with GLP-1 use are linked to weight loss, not the medications themselves. In this case, though, the uptick in nail issues was higher among GLP-1 users regardless of the weight lost, suggesting a more direct impact from the medication, although the study cautions more research is needed.
However, nail issues following weight loss isn’t unheard of. “This is uncommon overall, but we do see it with our surgical weight loss patients as well,” says Mir Ali, MD, medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA. That being said, Dr. Ali agrees that nail detachment “seems to be independent of the weight lost,” based on the findings and his personal experience with patients.
