33% of adults with type 2 diabetes lost 5% or more of body weight with GLP-1 agonists
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About one-third of adults who were prescribed a GLP-1 receptor agonist to treat type 2 diabetes lost at least 5% of their body weight at 72 weeks, according to findings from a real-world retrospective analysis.
“Trials have found that GLP-1 agonists are an effective tool for weight loss in highly controlled settings, often where patients also received structured weight-loss interventions,” Gretchen E. White, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, epidemiology, and clinical and translational science at the Institute for Clinical Research Education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, told Healio. “To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine weight loss in patients with overweight or obesity who are living with diabetes and prescribed GLP-1 agonists in the real world. We did not restrict our study to patients who were highly adherent with their medication either, which may better reflect the utility of these medications in every day clinical practice.”
White and colleagues collected electronic health records and health insurance claims data from 2,405 adults aged 18 years and older receiving care at a large health care system in western Pennsylvania who were dispensed a GLP-1 receptor agonist from 2011 to 2018 (mean age, 48 years; 53% women; 88% white). Only adults who were prescribed a dosage approved for glycemic control were included. Baseline demographics and clinical data were collected during the 52 weeks before the first medication dispense date. Follow-up was divided into 8-week intervals after the first dose was dispensed. Researchers collected data on weight change for up to 72 weeks.
The study was published in Obesity.
Of the study cohort, 92% had type 2 diabetes and 86% had obesity. The mean BMI of the cohort was 37 kg/m2. The majority of adults were prescribed their first GLP-1 receptor agonist in 2017 or 2018. Of the cohort, 52% were prescribed liraglutide (Saxenda, Novo Nordisk) and 40% were prescribed dulaglutide (Trulicity, Eli Lilly).
At 8 weeks, adults lost a mean 1.1% of their body weight. That weight loss doubled to 2.2% at 72 weeks (P < .001). The percentage of adults who lost at least 5% of their body weight was 11.2% at 8 weeks and 33.3% at 72 weeks (P < .001). At 72 weeks, 42.7% of GLP-1 receptor agonist users lost any amount of weight, and 10.5% lost 10% or more of their body weight.
“These findings suggest that GLP-1 agonists be used in patients who would benefit from weight loss in real-world settings,” White said. “Data from clinical trials have been very promising on this front, but it’s reassuring to see that these medications are also useful in clinical settings that aren’t as highly controlled as clinical trials.”
White said future research should analyze predictors for weight loss in people with diabetes to better understand who would best respond to a GLP-1 agonist and examine changes in body weight for adults who are fully adherent to GLP-1 therapy.
For more information:
Gretchen E. White, PhD, can be reached at gew22@pitt.edu.
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