Effectiveness, Safety and Therapeutic Adherence of Weekly Subcutaneous Semaglutide for Weight Management in Real Practice: An Observational Study

Abstract

[eng] Aims: To evaluate in a real practice setting effectiveness, safety and adherence to weekly subcutaneous semaglutide for weight reduction, along with diet and lifestyle modifications in obese/overweighted patients attending an Obesity Unit. Materials and Methods: In a retrospective study, 367 patients (mean age 50.25 years, 78.36% female, mean baseline body mass index 32.39 kg/m2) were followed for 10.7 months (median) after initiation of semaglutide. Up to 24.25% of patients were previously on GLP-1 analogue therapy (mostly liraglutide) and 36.26% used background oral medication for weight loss. Results: At final office visit patients averaged a weight loss of 7.97±3.42 kg (9.13±3.86% baseline body weight) and 88.07% and 30.27% of patients had achieved a≥5% and ≥10% weight loss, respectively, as compared to baseline body weight. Up to 61.19% and 33.46% of patients maintained 0.5 and 1.0 mg dose, respectively and 86.18% of patients persisted on sc semaglutide by last office visit. Nausea and abdominal pain were reported by 12.53% of patients with no severe adverse events. Background antiobesity medication did not affect weight loss and patients on previous GLP-1 analogue therapy lost 1.43 kg less than naïve patients (p<0.001). Conclusions: Out-of-label weekly administration of sc semaglutide 0.5 to 1.0 mg resulted in a significant, safe and affordable weight loss in a pragmatic setting without reimbursement of treatment cost. Magnitude of weight loss and safety profile was in line with preliminary data from a phase 2 trial, although this will need to be confirmed by an ongoing phase 3 development programme.