Efficacy and Safety of Tirzepatide in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A Perspective for Primary Care Providers
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This article reviews the efficacy and safety data of tirzepatide, a once-weekly, novel glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist approved in the United States, the European Union, and other regions for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. All doses of tirzepatide demonstrated superiority in reducing A1C and body weight from baseline versus placebo or active comparators. The safety profile of tirzepatide was consistent with that of the GLP-1 receptor agonist class, with mild to moderate and transient gastrointestinal side effects being the most common adverse events. With clinically and statistically significant reductions in A1C and body weight without increased risk of hypoglycemia in various populations, tirzepatide has demonstrated potential as a first-in-class treatment option for many people with type 2 diabetes.
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In phase 3 trials, tirzepatide decreased A1C and weight generally to a greater extent than other glucose-lowering drugs including semaglutide and insulin, with no significant differences in safety or efficacy in older compared with younger individuals.
“In phase 3 trials, tirzepatide decreased A1C and weight-generally to a greater extent than other glucose-lowering drugs including semaglutide and insulinwith no significant differences in the safety or efficacy in older compared with younger individuals (115).”
From 13. Older Adults: <i>Standards of Care in Diabetes—2024</i> (2024) · cites this paper as [115]
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Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe reversal in glycemic benefits in HbA1c and fasting serum glucose observed early within 16 weeks of withdrawing tirzepatide is likely due to the known direct glucose-lowering effect of tirzepatide.
“the reversal in glycemic benefits in HbA1c and FSG were observed early on within 16 weeks of withdrawing tirzepatide likely due to the known direct glucose-lowering effect of tirzepatide”
From Cardiometabolic Parameter Change by Weight Regain on Tirzepatide Withdrawal in Adults With Obesity: A Post Hoc Analysis of the SURMOUNT-4 Trial (2026) · cites this paper as [17]
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13. Older Adults: <i>Standards of Care in Diabetes—2024</i>
American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee, ElSayed, N. A., Aleppo, G., Bannuru, R. R., Bruemmer, D., Collins, B. S., Ekhlaspour, L., Hilliard, M. E., Johnson, E. L., Khunti, K., et al. (2024) · Diabetes Care · doi:10.2337/dc24-s013 · Cited by 161 · see citing works
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- Authors
- Kushner, P., Anderson, J. E., Simon, J., Boye, K. S., Ranta, K., Torcello-Gómez, A., & Levine, J. A.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Irvine (US)
- 3The Frist Clinic, Nashville, TN
- 4Medizinisches Versorgungszentrum im Altstadt-Carree Fulda GmbH, Fulda, Germany
- Eli Lilly (United States) (US)
- Elisa (Finland) (FI)
- 7Eli Lilly and Company, Cork, Ireland
- Corresponding author
- Levine, Joshua A.
- Venue
- Clinical Diabetes
- Publisher
- American Diabetes Association
- Published
- 2022-11-29
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 258-272
- ISSN
- 0891-8929 (ISSN-L)
- 1945-4953
- PMC
- PMC10115620
- OpenAlex
- W4310936735
- Cited by
- 14
- References
- 9
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3
- FWCI
- 1.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Clinical Diabetes (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Eli Lilly and Company (N/A)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Treatment and Management
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Management and Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Pharmacology and Obesity Treatment
- Keywords
- tirzepatide, type 2 diabetes, GLP-1 receptor agonists, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide, weight loss, hypoglycemia risk, gastrointestinal adverse effects, primary care management, drug safety and efficacy
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