If you’re taking a GLP-1, you’ve probably heard plenty about the potential side effects, ranging from nausea and constipation to pancreatitis. And the longer they’re on the market, the more side effects researchers are noticing and exploring, like hair loss and vision changes. The latest addition to the list: Nail changes.
A study presented this month at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology’s 2026 Congress in Vienna discovered nail problems among GLP-1 users, with two-thirds of them experiencing a nail disorder. Some people are experiencing their nails lifting up from their bed, while others’ nails are changing color. It may sound alarming, but the research is very preliminary.
Here’s what three experts—including a study coauthor—say you should know. Meet the experts: Bianca Maria Piraccini, MD, PhD, is a dermatologist and coauthor of the study. Dana Stern, MD, is a dermatologist specializing in nail health and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center.
Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, is an obesity medicine physician-scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. The researchers surveyed 575 people taking GLP-1s and 1,329 people with obesity and/or type 2 diabetes who had never taken them. Nearly 40 percent in the GLP-1 group reported that their nails were lifting away from the nail bed, compared with about 10 percent in the other group.
Changes in nail color were more common, too, with 46 percent of people taking GLP-1s reporting them, compared with 17 percent of those who weren’t. For starters, around half of GLP-1 users said they had nail problems before taking the med. Other health conditions and nutritional deficiencies, like psoriasis and iron deficiency, also explained some of the difference between groups, according to dermatologist and study coauthor Bianca Maria Piraccini, MD, PhD.
Psoriasis can cause nails to change color or lift away from the nail bed, while iron deficiency can leave them thin and spoon-shaped, per the American Academy of Dermatology Association. After researchers accounted for those factors, nail lifting and discoloration were still associated with GLP-1 use, although the links were weaker, Dr. In a separate analysis that focused only on changes reported to have started after treatment began, neither association was statistically significant—another reason the findings can’t establish that the medication itself caused the problems.
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