Real‐world weight‐loss effectiveness of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 agonists among patients with type 2 diabetes: A retrospective cohort study
Open accessAbstract
Objective: Weight loss achieved with standard doses of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) agonists among real‐world patients with type 2 diabetes has not been determined. This study sought to describe the percent change in body weight 72 weeks after starting a GLP‐1 agonist. Methods: A retrospective cohort study of nonpregnant adults who were first dispensed a GLP‐1 agonist between 2011 and 2018 was conducted using electronic health record data from patients receiving care at a large health system. Linear mixed models were used, with a person‐level random intercept controlling for baseline variables associated with missing weight data to estimate percent body weight change during follow‐up. Results: The cohort included 2405 patients (mean [SD] age 48 [10] years, 53% female), with a mean BMI of 37 (8) kg/m 2 and a mean baseline weight of 238 (54) lb. Mean percent weight loss significantly increased from 1.1% (95% CI: 0.6%‐1.6%) 8 weeks after GLP‐1‐agonist dispensing to 2.2% (95% CI: 1.7%‐2.6%) 72 weeks after GLP‐1‐agonist dispensing (p value for quadratic trend < 0.001). One‐third of patients lost ≥5% body weight at 72 weeks. Conclusions: In this real‐world study of more than 2400 patients with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes, starting a GLP‐1 agonist at standard glycemic control doses was associated with modest weight loss through 72 weeks.
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- Authors
- White, G. E., Shu, I., Rometo, D., Arnold, J., Korytkowski, M., & Luo, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- Corresponding author
- White, Gretchen E.
- Venue
- Obesity
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2023-01-09
- Volume
- 31
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 537-544
- ISSN
- 1930-7381 (ISSN-L)
- 1930-739X
- PMC
- PMC9877131
- OpenAlex
- W4313880066
- Semantic Scholar
- d9ad639469395929c2079376e8f68702142af910
- Cited by
- 66
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 33 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1
- FWCI
- 13.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Obesity (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (KL2TR001856)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (K23DK120956)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Treatment and Management
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Pharmacology and Obesity Treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins
- Keywords
- GLP-1 receptor agonists, type 2 diabetes, weight loss, overweight, real-world effectiveness, weight change, diabetes treatment
- MeSH terms
- Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor, Adult, Body Weight, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Female, Glycated Hemoglobin, Humans, Hypoglycemic Agents, Male, Middle Aged, Retrospective Studies, Weight Loss, Glucagon-Like Peptide 1
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