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Observational Study
. 2025 Mar;19(2):292-296.
doi: 10.1177/19322968231223991. Epub 2024 Feb 5.

Efficacy and Safety of Tirzepatide in Adults With Type 1 Diabetes: A Proof of Concept Observational Study

Halis Kaan Akturk  1 , Fran Dong  1 , Janet K Snell-Bergeon  1 , Kagan Ege Karakus  1 , Viral N Shah  2
Affiliations
Observational Study

Efficacy and Safety of Tirzepatide in Adults With Type 1 Diabetes: A Proof of Concept Observational Study

Halis Kaan Akturk et al. J Diabetes Sci Technol. 2025 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Tirzepatide is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the management of type 2 diabetes. The efficacy and safety of this drug have not been studied in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D).

Methods: In this single-center, retrospective, observational study, hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), weight, body mass index (BMI), and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data were collected from electronic health records of adults with T1D at initiation of tirzepatide and at subsequent clinic visits over 8 months. Primary outcomes were reduction in HbA1c and percent change in body weight and secondary outcomes were change in CGM metrics and BMI over 8 months from baseline.

Results: The mean (±SD) age of the 26 adults (54% female) with T1D was 42 ± 8 years with a mean BMI of 36.7 ± 5.3 kg/m2. There was significant reduction in HbA1c by 0.45% at 3 months and 0.59% at 8 months, and a significant reduction in body weight by 3.4%, 10.5%, and 10.1% at 3, 6, and 8 months after starting tirzepatide. Time in target range (TIR = 70-180 mg/dL) and time in tight target range (TITR = 70-140 mg/dL) increased (+12.6%, P = .002; +10.7%, P = .0016, respectively) and time above range (TAR >180 mg/dL) decreased (-12.6%, P = .002) at 3 months, and these changes were sustained over 8 months. The drug was relatively safe and well tolerated with only 2 patients discontinuing the medication.

Conclusions: Tirzepatide significantly reduced HbA1c and body weight in adults with T1D. A randomized controlled trial is needed to establish efficacy and safety of this drug in T1D.

Keywords: GLP-1RA; HbA1c; Tirzepatide; glucagon-like peptide; time in range; time in tight target range.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: HKA received research support through University of Colorado from Dexcom, Tandem Diabetes, Senseonics, Medtronic, Eli Lilly, REMD Biotherapeutics, IM Therapeutics, and IAFMS and received honoraria through University of Colorado from Senseonics and Mannkind for advisory board attendance. VNS received research support from Novo Nordisk, Insulet, and Tandem Diabetes Care and received honoraria from LifeScan for advisory board attendance and from Dexcom, Embecta, and Insulet for speaking arrangements. FD, JKS, and KEK do not report any conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(a) Reduction in HbA1c at 3, 6, and 8 months. (b) Percent change in weight at 3, 6, and 8 months. (c) Time below 70 mg/dL (red), time in 70 to 180 mg/dL (green), time above 180 mg/dL (yellow) at the baseline, 3, 6, and 8 months. Confidence intervals were shown with whiskers on each bar.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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