WeightControl.com Interview with:
Nathan D. Wong, PhD, FACC, FAHA
Professor and Director
Heart Disease Prevention Program
Division of Cardiology, UC Irvine and
and UC Irvine and Radiology and Public Health at UC Irvine
WeightControl.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Wegovy (semaglutide 2.4 mg given as an injection once weekly) has been shown in the previously reported STEP 1 trial to result in on average a 15% body weight loss in patients with overweight or obesity. It also beneficially improves other cardiovascular risk factors including blood pressure and cholesterol levels. We applied the eligibility and findings of the STEP 1 trial to the US population-representative National Health and Nutrition Examination survey and estimated that 93 million US adults with overweight or obesity would be potentially eligible for the drug based on the STEP 1 eligibility criteria.
WeightControl.com: What are the main findings?
Response: Our main findings is that if this population were given the drug that it would result in 43 million fewer persons with obesity and over 10 years could result in up to 1.5 million fewer cardiovascular disease events, including heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure.
WeightControl.com: What are the potential cost implications?
Response: While the drug is costly to obtain by some patients, the cost savings associated with fewer doctor and hospital visits due to obesity and obesity-related diseases, in particular cardiovascular diseases (especially heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure) could be substantial. We did not, however, estimate the cost-effectiveness of this therapy in our study.
WeightControl.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?
Response: Future needs would be to estimate the potential net cost-savings due to reductions in estimated cardiovascular events and other healthcare costs associated with a reduction in obesity as we have estimated. In addition, the potential population-wide impact on quality of life, including productive work days from less obesity would be of great interest to examine.
Disclosures: This study was supported by a research grant from the Novo Nordisk Inc. Investigator Sponsored Studies Program to the University of California, Irvine.
Citation:
Wong ND, Karthikeyan H, Fan W. US Population Eligibility and Estimated Impact of Semaglutide Treatment on Obesity Prevalence and Cardiovascular Disease Events. Cardiovasc Drugs Ther. 2023 Aug 14. doi: 10.1007/s10557-023-07488-3. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37578663.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10557-023-07488-3
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Last Updated on September 20, 2023 by weightcontrol