Prescription Surge: GLP-1RAs for Obesity Without Type 2 Diabetes on the Rise

A nationwide study revealed a significant rise in new prescriptions for Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1RAs) over the past decade, with a notable increase since 2020. Semaglutide emerged as the most prescribed GLP-1RA in 2023. Interestingly, while the proportion of new users with type 2 diabetes decreased, prescriptions surged among individuals with obesity or related comorbidities but without type 2 diabetes ().

Obesity Epidemic and GLP-1RA Demand May Fuel Drug Shortages

The study authors suggest that the high prevalence of obesity and rising demand for GLP-1RAs for obesity may lead to drug shortages and exacerbate existing racial and ethnic disparities in drug access. This brief research report is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

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‘The significant increase in #GLP-1RA prescriptions for #obesity in patients without type 2 #diabetes underscores a growing demand that may strain resources and amplify disparities in access.’

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Cedars-Sinai studied data from TriNetX, a federated health research network with records for 45 million individuals in the United States, to delineate the annual trend in new prescriptions of GLP-1RAs between 2011 and 2023, categorized by the presence of diabetes and comorbid conditions related to diabetes or obesity. New prescriptions were defined as users who received GLP-1RAs for the first time in their records in the TrinetX database.

The data showed that of the 1 million new GLP-1RA users identified during the study timeframe, users were disproportionately female, non-Hispanic White, and had a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater.

During the same period, there was a 2-fold increase in the proportions of users without type 2 diabetes but with a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or greater, or in those with a BMI of 27 to 30 kg/m2 and an obesity-related comorbid condition.

Type 2 Diabetes
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Additionally, the proportion of users without FDA-approved indications increased from 0.21% in 2019 to 0.37% in 2023.

In 2019, semaglutide and liraglutide constituted 31.4% and 35.3% of all new GLP-1RA prescriptions, respectively. In 2023, these proportions increased to 88.1% for semaglutide, and decreased to 10.3% for liraglutide.

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Reference:

Shifting Trends in the Indication of Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist Prescriptions - (https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M24-0019)

Source-Eurekalert

Semaglutide
Semaglutide is a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist which is prescribed to treat adult patients with uncontrolled type 2 diabetes along with diet and exercise to improve glucose control. ...