In a cohort study at a referral center for weight management, patients using weekly doses of semaglutide 1.7 mg and 2.4 mg had weight loss similar to that observed in the clinical trials. Retrospectively collected data for the Jan. 1, 2021 through Mar. 15, 2022, time period showed weight loss of 6.7 kg (5.9%) and 12.3 kg (10.9%) in 175 patients at 3 months and 102 patients at 6 months, respectively.
“Of the 102 patients who were followed up at 6 months, 89 (87.3%) achieved weight loss of 5% or more, 56 (54.9%) achieved weight loss of 10% or more, 24 (23.5%) achieved weight loss of 15% or more, and 8 (7.8%) achieved weight loss of 20% or more,” the authors write. “Patients with type 2 diabetes had a lower mean (SD) percentage weight loss at 3 and 6 months compared with those without type 2 diabetes: 3.9% (3.1%) vs 6.3% (3.7%) at 3 months (P = .001) and 7.2% (6.3%) vs 11.8% (5.3%) at 6 months (P = .005).”
Patients had few moderate and severe adverse events, mostly nausea and constipation. However, the authors could not rule out that patients lost to follow-up between 3 and 6 months might have dropped out because of adverse effects of the drug.