Published online Sep 20, 2024. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v14.i3.91832
Revised: January 29, 2024
Accepted: March 1, 2024
Published online: September 20, 2024
Processing time: 170 Days and 19.1 Hours
Diabesity (diabetes as a consequence of obesity) has emerged as a huge healthcare challenge across the globe due to the obesity pandemic. Judicious use of anti
To study the real-world benefits and side effects of using semaglutide to manage patients with diabesity.
We evaluated the efficacy and safety of semaglutide use in managing patients with diabesity in a large academic hospital in the United States. Several para
106 patients (56 males) with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), mean age 60.8 ± 11.2 years, mean durations of T2DM 12.4 ± 7.2 years and mean semaglutide treatment for 2.6 ± 1.1 years were included. Semaglutide treatment was associated with significant improvement in diabesity outcomes such as mean weight reductions from baseline 110.4 ± 24.6 kg to 99.9 ± 24.9 kg at 12 months and 96.8 ± 22.9 kg at latest follow up and HbA1c improvement from baseline of 82 ± 21 mmol/mol to 67 ± 20 at 12 months and 71 ± 23 mmol/mol at the latest follow up. An insulin dose reduction from mean baseline of 95 ± 74 units to 76.5 ± 56.2 units was also observed at the latest follow up. Side effects were mild and mainly gastrointestinal like bloating and nausea improving with prolonged use of semaglutide.
Semaglutide treatment is associated with significant improvement in diabesity outcomes such as reduction in body weight, HbA1c and insulin doses without major adverse effects. Reviews of largescale real-world data are expected to inform better clinical practice decision making to improve the care of patients with diabesity.
Core Tip: Rational medical management of diabesity, i.e., diabetes resulting from obesity, involves judicious use of antidiabetic drugs which should ideally help body weight loss while controlling hyperglycemia. Although semaglutide use has been associated with significant improvements in body weight and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in multiple randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective observational studies, more real-world data from day-to-day medical practice would inform better clinical decision making. We report our retrospective study data that reveals better diabesity outcomes compared to RCTs with a mean weight loss of 12.3%, HbA1c reduction of 13.7% and insulin dose reduction of 19.5% with semaglutide treatment.