GLP-1 therapies may allow clinicians to tailor obesity treatment to patients’ individual cardiometabolic needs rather than focusing on weight loss alone, according to a July 27 analysis published in the journal Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism.
Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., and UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas analyzed data from 19 randomized controlled trials involving 13,117 overweight participants. Using a Cardiometabolic Efficacy Index that incorporates seven measures of heart and metabolic health, they found meaningful differences in how GLP-1 therapies affected blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol and body weight.
Semaglutide 7.2 mg injections achieved the highest overall Cardiometabolic Efficacy Index score at 0.86, followed by orforglipron 36 mg at 0.68 and semaglutide 2.4 mg injections at 0.66. All three therapies produced placebo-adjusted weight reductions of at least 10% of participants’ body weight, on average.
The analysis found orforglipron showed stronger effects on blood sugar control, HDL cholesterol and systolic blood pressure, while semaglutide demonstrated larger effects on body weight, waist circumference and LDL cholesterol. Researchers said the findings could help clinicians match GLP-1 therapies to patients’ broader cardiometabolic profiles.
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