Study: Half Of Adults Without Diabetes Taking Weight-loss Drug Discontinue Treatment Within A Year

The caller people of anti-obesity drugs, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), is proving remarkably effective astatine helping individuals suffer weight. However, a caller population-wide study being presented astatine this year's Annual Meeting of The European Association for nan Study of Diabetes (EASD), Vienna (15-19 Sept) finds that half of adults without glucosuria who commencement taking nan weight-loss supplier semaglutide successful Denmark discontinue curen wrong a year.

This level of driblet disconnected is concerning because these medications aren't meant to beryllium a impermanent speedy fix. For them to activity effectively, they request to beryllium taken agelong term. All of nan beneficial effects connected appetite power are mislaid if nan medicine is stopped."

Professor Reimar W. Thomsen, lead author, Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark

Originally developed for diabetes, GLP-1RAs person shown committedness successful promoting weight nonaccomplishment by reducing appetite and expanding satiety signals from nan gut to nan brain. However, GLP-1RAs are costly and tin perchance widen wellness disparities arsenic obesity disproportionally affects marginalised racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic communities.

Moreover, weight regain is communal erstwhile nan medicine is discontinued, indicating that group whitethorn request to stay connected these narcotics to support disconnected nan pounds. However, location are increasing concerns that galore group whitethorn extremity anti-obesity medications not agelong aft starting them, but population-based information stay scarce.

To supply much evidence, researchers utilized information from nationwide wellness registries to analyse nan likelihood of, and reasons for, discontinuation of semaglutide usage for weight nonaccomplishment successful each adults (aged 18 aliases older) without glucosuria who initiated curen betwixt nan drug's motorboat day successful Denmark (December 1st, 2022) and October 1st, 2023.

Out of 77,310 first clip users of semaglutide for weight nonaccomplishment identified, complete half (40,262; median property 50 years, 72% women) were nary longer taking it aft 1 year-with 18%, 31% and 42% stopping curen wrong 3, 6 and 9 months, respectively. So why do truthful galore group discontinue nan drug?

High costs

The study recovered that nan astir communal facet influencing nan likelihood of discontinuation was age, pinch younger users aged 18-29 years 48% much apt to extremity curen wrong nan first twelvemonth than those aged 45-59 years, aft controlling for activity differences. Similarly, users surviving successful low-income areas were 14% much apt to discontinue curen wrong nan first twelvemonth than those surviving successful high-income areas.

Both of these factors item nan apt effect of precocious costs of these medications (2000 Euros per twelvemonth for nan lowest dose of semaglutide arsenic of June 2025), which is an important obstruction to curen for galore people.

Higher predisposition to adverse effects

Additionally, group who had antecedently utilized gastrointestinal medications-which whitethorn bespeak they are much susceptible to nan communal adverse gastrointestinal side-effects reported by GLP1-RA users, specified arsenic nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea-were 9% much apt to discontinue semaglutide wrong nan first year.

Similarly, group pinch a history of psychiatric medications were 12% much apt to discontinue curen wrong nan first year, while those surviving pinch cardiovascular illness aliases different chronic conditions were astir 10% much apt to extremity curen early-also suggesting a higher likelihood of experiencing adverse effects. "This is peculiarly concerning fixed that group pinch obesity-related comorbidities whitethorn reap nan top use from treatment," said Professor Thomsen.

The study besides recovered that men were 12% much apt to extremity curen wrong a twelvemonth than women, which mightiness bespeak unsatisfactory weight nonaccomplishment fixed nan amended weight nonaccomplishment outcomes mostly observed successful women taking GLP-1RAs than men.

"These results are caller and shed ray connected nan reasons for precocious rates of early discontinuation of semaglutide for weight nonaccomplishment successful a real-world setting," said Professor Thomsen. "With complete half of adults successful Europe surviving pinch overweight aliases obesity, knowing who whitethorn use astir from interventions that promote adherence is basal to improving curen usage and consequent wellness outcomes and value of life."

Despite nan important findings, nan authors admit serval limitations of nan study, including that anthropometric measures specified arsenic nan nonstop BMI are not mostly disposable successful Danish wellness registries, and they could not measure individual-level income, security coverage, aliases out-of-pocket pay, which could partially impact nan conclusions. They besides statement that milder broadside effects specified arsenic gastrointestinal complaints and different imaginable reasons for discontinuation cannot beryllium captured afloat successful registries and were apt underestimated. Finally, nan researchers did not person accusation connected nan magnitude of weight nonaccomplishment achieved aft semaglutide initiation.