Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2024 Nov;26(11):5222-5232.
doi: 10.1111/dom.15869. Epub 2024 Aug 22.

Long-term safety and efficacy of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in individuals with obesity and without type 2 diabetes: A global retrospective cohort study

Yu-Nan Huang  1   2 , Wen-Ling Liao  3   4 , Jing-Yang Huang  5   6 , Yu-Jung Lin  7   8 , Shun-Fa Yang  6   9 , Chieh-Chen Huang  10 , Chung-Hsing Wang  11   12 , Pen-Hua Su  1   2
Affiliations
Observational Study

Long-term safety and efficacy of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists in individuals with obesity and without type 2 diabetes: A global retrospective cohort study

Yu-Nan Huang et al. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2024 Nov.

Erratum in

Abstract

Aim: We aimed to investigate the long-term impact of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) on thyroid function, cardiovascular health, renal outcomes and adverse events in individuals with obesity and without type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Materials and methods: In this observational cohort study, we used propensity score matching to construct comparable cohorts of individuals with obesity and without T2D who were new to GLP-1 RA treatment and those who did not receive glucose-lowering medications. In total, 3,729,925 individuals with obesity were selected from the TriNetX Global Network, with an index event between 1 January 2016 and 31 March 2024. The primary outcomes were safety, cardiovascular, thyroid and clinical biochemical profile outcomes occurring within 5 years following the index event.

Results: After propensity score matching, the study included 12,123 individuals in each group. GLP-1 RA treatment was associated with a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 0.23; 95% confidence interval 0.15-0.34) and several cardiovascular complications, including ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, hypertension, stroke and atrial fibrillation (all p < 0.05). GLP-1 RAs were also associated with a lower risk of acute kidney injury and allergic reactions. These protective effects were consistent across various subgroups and regions.

Conclusions: In this large observational study, GLP-1 RAs showed long-term protective effects on cardiovascular health, renal outcomes and adverse events in individuals with obesity and without T2D. Our findings suggest that GLP-1 RAs may offer a comprehensive approach to managing obesity and its related comorbidities, potentially improving overall health and survival in this population.

Keywords: adverse effects; cardiovascular disease; glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists; obesity management; thyroid dysfunction.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. González‐Muniesa P, Mártinez‐González M‐A, Hu FB, et al. Obesity. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2017;3(1):17034.
    1. Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022: a pooled analysis of 3663 population‐representative studies with 222 million children, adolescents, and adults. Lancet. 2024;403(10431):1027‐1050.
    1. Blüher M. Obesity: global epidemiology and pathogenesis. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2019;15(5):288‐298.
    1. Afshin A, Forouzanfar MH, Reitsma MB, et al. Health effects of overweight and obesity in 195 countries over 25 years. N Engl J Med. 2017;377(1):13‐27.
    1. Wadden TA, Tronieri JS, Butryn ML. Lifestyle modification approaches for the treatment of obesity in adults. Am Psychol. 2020;75(2):235‐251.

Publication types

Substances

LinkOut - more resources