Weight Loss Drugs Used By Patients With High Triglycerides Do Not Increase Pancreatitis Risk

In a awesome caller study, researchers from Intermountain Health successful Salt Lake City person recovered that weight nonaccomplishment narcotics utilized by patients who person precocious triglycerides do not summation their consequence of pancreatitis aliases adverse cardiac events.

Since nan first GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP1RAs), much commonly known now arsenic weight nonaccomplishment drugs, were approved successful 2005, immoderate clinicians person been hesitant to prescribe them to group who person very precocious triglycerides. That's because these patients are typically astatine precocious consequence of pancreatitis, and nan narcotics interact pinch nan pancreas. 

In nan caller study, Intermountain researchers recovered that GLP1RAs don't summation nan consequence of pancreatitis successful these patients – and for those who person ne'er had pancreatitis, being connected a GLP1RA medicine led to a 4 times little consequence of processing nan condition.

Pancreatitis is incredibly achy and tin beryllium deadly. Once you person a diligent pinch acute pancreatitis you want nary portion of causing it again. But these findings show nary nexus betwixt pancreatitis and patients pinch precocious triglycerides taking a weight nonaccomplishment drug. Even better, we recovered that these narcotics whitethorn connection protection against ever having it successful nan first place."

Leslie Iverson, PA-C, cardiovascular prevention and investigation clinician astatine Intermountain Health

Study findings were presented astatine nan American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2025 successful New Orleans connected Nov. 9.

In nan retrospective study, Intermountain researchers reviewed nan physics wellness records of patients treated astatine Intermountain Health betwixt January 2006 and April 2025 and identified patients complete 18 years aged pinch Type 2 glucosuria and/or a assemblage wide scale complete 27. 

One of nan cardinal factors researchers included successful their study was whether a diligent had terrible hypertriglyceridemia (HTG), pinch a triglyceride level complete 500.

Severe HTG is simply a known consequence facet for pancreatitis, which is why physicians whitethorn beryllium little apt to prescribe GLP1RA medications to patients pinch nan condition.

Of nan 346,667 patients reviewed successful nan study, 3,834 (1.1%) were prescribed a GLP1RA medication. Overall, researchers recovered nary accrued consequence of pancreatitis successful patients prescribed a GLP1RA medication.

They besides recovered nary accrued consequence of pancreatitis successful patients pinch HTG, including those pinch a triglyceride level complete 500.

For those patients pinch HTG who ne'er had pancreatitis before, they had a four-time little consequence of processing nan condition, compared to patients not connected a GLP1RA medication. 

"Our findings show that HTG is not a logic to withhold this people of medicine from due patients, if they would use otherwise," she said. "This is an important uncovering that helps heighten retired curen options."

Iverson added that clinicians are besides seeing triglyceride levels successful patients spell down because of being connected GLP1RA medications. This makes sense, she said, arsenic GLP1RAs reside issues for illustration glucosuria and obesity that tin raise triglyceride levels.