Liraglutide with lifestyle modification Effectively lowers Body weight and blood sugar

Results from clinical trials repeatedly demonstrated the ability of glucagon-like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) analogues to induce weight loss. As a result, liraglutide was also developed as a weight loss agent and, its 3.0 mg daily dose has shown encouraging results in multiple phase III clinical trials. Dr Jung Ha Park and his team conducted a study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of liraglutide 3 mg daily in combination with diet and exercise 2, 4, and 6 months after initiation in real-world settings in Korea.

The researchers evaluated the body weight and BMI at 2, 4, and 6 months after treatment initiation with liraglutide in 769 participants recruited from 10 sites in Korea. Among 769 participants, 672 were in the 2-month group, 427 were in the 4-month group, and 219 were in the 6-month group. They compared the body weight and BMI of 2, 4, and 6 months with baseline values.

Key findings of the study were:

• The baseline mean ± standard deviation of BMI and body weight were 32.2 ± 5.1 kg/m2, and 87.5 ± 18.8 kg, respectively.
• Upon analysis, they found that body weight and BMI decreased after initiation of liraglutide treatment:

◊ −2.94 kg and −1.08 kg/m2 at 2 months;

◊ −4.23 kg and −1.55 kg/m2 at 4 months, and

◊ −5.14 kg and −1.89 kg/m2 at 6 months.

• In the 6-month cohort, they found that 52.5% and 18.3% of subjects lost ≥5% and ≥10% of body weight, respectively.
• After 6 months, they observed a significant decrease in the systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 3.90 and 1.93 mmHg.
• Among patients with diabetes mellitus, they found a significant decrease in HbA1c and fasting glucose levels by 1.14% and 27.8 mg/dl.
• The common adverse events reported were nausea (20.8%), vomiting (5.2%), diarrhoea (2.5%), and skin rash (3.6%).
• Documented reasons for discontinuation of treatment were: lack of effect (4.4%), adverse events (4.3%), and high cost (3.1%).

The authors concluded, "In real-world settings in Korea, daily treatment with liraglutide 3 mg was associated with clinically meaningful weight loss without serious adverse events."

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-021-00739-z