The benefits of Ozempic and similar drugs could have a large impact at the population level. A new study estimates that expanding access to these new weight loss and diabetes drugs could save thousands of lives each year in the United States.
The recently approved drugs semaglutide (the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound) have been proven to be much more effective at losing weight than diet and exercise alone, and have been tested in clinical trials. will result in approximately 15% to 20% weight loss. ordeal. And almost every week, another study comes out that suggests the benefits extend beyond just weight loss. This new study, published Tuesday in the journal PNAS, seeks to tally the positive impact they may have on our collective mortality rate.
Although the link between weight gain and poor health is more complex than commonly depicted, obesity is associated with a variety of conditions, including conditions that predispose people to early and severe conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. It is associated with a higher risk of health problems. Even before these GLP-1 drugs became known as weight loss blockbusters, they continued to be used as valuable treatments for type 2 diabetes. And a large-scale trial found that Wegovy could particularly reduce the risk of obese people, who are more susceptible to cardiovascular and kidney disease.
However, only 1 of Americans eligible for GLP-1 drugs actually use them, which is likely due to several factors, particularly the lack of routine medical insurance and This is thought to be due to the high cost of the case. For example, without insurance, Wegovy’s list price is over $1,000 per month. Researchers from the Yale School of Public Health and the University of Florida calculated what would happen if these drugs were more widely available and taken, with a particular focus on deaths that could be prevented by treating obesity and diabetes. did.
Approximately 40% of American adults are currently considered obese (BMI of 30 or higher). But only about 10% of this group takes GLP-1 drugs to treat obesity or diabetes, according to data cited by the researchers. Overweight people with diabetes and certain other obesity-related diseases are also eligible to receive these drugs, where intakes are similarly low.
Even under the current low-use scenario, researchers estimate that about 8,500 deaths are prevented annually. But they estimate that about 42,000 deaths a year could be prevented under the expanded access scenario. More than 11,000 deaths could be prevented among people with type 2 diabetes.
“As a major risk factor for several chronic diseases, obesity is a national public health crisis. Our findings pave the way for a new generation of weight loss drugs that reduce mortality and morbidity associated with obesity and diabetes. ”, the researchers wrote.
Of course, these numbers are estimates and involve many assumptions. However, researchers have determined that people’s willingness to start GLP-1 therapy if eligible (about 75% in one study) and their ability to stay on the drug for long periods of time (real-world compliance rates range from 25% to 25%) %). % to 50% increase over 1 year) based on other studies). They also modeled a very rosy scenario in which almost everyone (89%) targeted took GLP-1 and then everyone continued on it. Under these conditions, they found, GLP-1 drugs could prevent more than 160,000 deaths per year and 41% of people living with obesity would no longer be obese.
But in the real world, there are many valid reasons why even eligible people don’t want to take these drugs. The most common side effects are diarrhea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal symptoms, which can be unbearably painful for some people (thankfully, these symptoms resolve over time for most people). seems to be reduced). Also, a small number of people do not respond as expected and lose very little weight while wearing them. And even if they can afford the drug, some people may not want to deal with what could be a lifetime of weekly injections.
However, public demand for these drugs regularly exceeds supply, creating shortages. These shortages and high costs have also fueled a flourishing gray and black market for the drug, with many people opting to buy the cheaper semaglutide and tirzepatide, even with less guarantees of safety. is selected. So, at least for now, there are many people who would like to obtain these drugs legally but cannot. And researchers say more needs to be done to ensure safe and easy access for eligible people.
“Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach,” study author Burton Singer, an adjunct professor of mathematics at the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute, said in a statement from Yale University. “We need to bring drug prices more in line with manufacturing costs and increase production capacity to meet demand. At the same time, we need to address the insurance and accessibility issues that prevent many people from getting the treatments they need. must also be addressed.”
