Diabetes Self-Management
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December 9, 2022
Treating people who are overweight with the drug semaglutide cuts their risk of later developing diabetes by more than half, says a new study presented at the recent meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Stockholm, Sweden. The data was so impressive that the presenter, W. Timothy Garvey, MD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, called the report a “game changer.” The drug not only promotes weight loss, he said, but triggers positive changes in blood sugar levels and body-mass index (BMI).
Semaglutide, which is sold under the brand names Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy, is what’s known as a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonist, a medication that not only increases blood sugar control but also can promote weight loss. For their investigation, Garvey and his team used numbers from two previous trials called STEP 1 and STEP 4. The data from STEP 1, released in March 2021, compared once-weekly semaglutide to a placebo (inactive treatment) in patients and concluded that after 68 weeks semaglutide cut the risk of developing type 2 diabetes over the following 10 years from 18% to 7%. A similar analysis of data from the STEP 4 trial, also released in March 2021, showed that after 20 weeks semaglutide lowered the 10-year diabetes risk from 20% to about 11%.
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For the research presented in Sweden, the researchers used a formula called the cardiometabolic disease staging (CMDS) tool, which they had earlier devised to calculate the 10-year type 2 diabetes risk based on three risk unchangeable factors (age, sex, and race) and five modifiable factors (BMI, blood pressure, glucose level, high-density lipoprotein [HDL, or “good”] cholesterol, and triglycerides). With this tool they analyzed 1,561 STEP 1 subjects and 766 STEP 4 study subjects and reported that a 2.4-milligram dose of semaglutide, administered weekly by injection, can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by 60%.
These findings, said Dr. Garvey, “suggest that semaglutide could help prevent type 2 diabetes in people with overweight or obesity.” “Semaglutide,” he said, “appears to be the most effective medication to date for treating obesity and is beginning to close the gap with the amount of weight loss following bariatric surgery. Its approval was based on clinical trial results showing that it reduces weight by over 15% on average, when used with a healthy lifestyle program.”
The weight loss reported in the trials, Garvey added, is enough to prevent or treat a range of obesity complications. The effectiveness of semaglutide “is similar whether a patient has prediabetes or normal blood sugar levels. Sustained treatment is required to maintain the benefit. Given the rising rates of obesity and diabetes, semaglutide could be used effectively to reduce the burden of these chronic diseases.” Commenting on the report, Rodolfo J. Galindo, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, said, “We devote a significant amount of effort to treating people with diabetes, but very little effort for diabetes prevention. We hope that further scientific findings showing the benefits of weight loss, as illustrated by Garvey for diabetes prevention, will change the pandemic of adiposity-based chronic disease.”
Dr. Garvey also expressed optimism that suppliers of medial health insurance will take note of his team’s findings. As things stand now, coverage for obesity intervention, especially in the United States, has been spotty, but the new research might change that.
Want to learn more about weight management? Read “Tried and True Weight-Loss Techniques,” “Losing Weight Without Feeling Hungry,” and “Seven Ways to Lose Weight.”
Joseph Gustaitis on social media
A freelance writer and editor based in the Chicago area, Gustaitis has a degree in journalism from Columbia University. He has decades of experience writing about diabetes and related health conditions and interviewing healthcare experts.
Disclaimer of Medical Advice: Statements and opinions expressed on this Web site are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the publishers or advertisers. The information, which comes from qualified medical writers, does not constitute medical advice or recommendation of any kind, and you should not rely on any information contained in such posts or comments to replace consultations with your qualified health care professionals to meet your individual needs.
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