Weight reduction medication like Ozempic, Wegovy curb demand for surgical procedure
The demand for weight reduction operations dropped sharply final yr because the variety of individuals choosing anti-obesity medication corresponding to Wegovy and Saxenda greater than doubled, a research revealed Friday discovered.
The research authors mentioned the analysis is among the many first to discover how the big nationwide spike in using weight reduction medication correlated with the variety of sufferers selecting to endure abdomen operations to drop some pounds.
Utilizing a database of medical health insurance claims from greater than 17 million adults, Mass Common Brigham researchers recognized individuals recognized with weight problems however not diabetes.
The researchers discovered a 25.6% drop in individuals present process bariatric surgical procedure within the remaining six months of 2023 in contrast with the variety of surgical procedures individuals had throughout the identical interval the yr earlier than. Throughout the latter half of 2023, the variety of sufferers who took a glucagon-like peptide 1, or GLP-1 remedy for weight reduction, surged by greater than 130%, in response to a research revealed Friday in JAMA Community Open.
The research analyzed the burden loss medication semaglutide and liraglutide, that are bought underneath the model names Wegovy and Saxenda. One other widespread weight reduction drug, Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, was not included as a result of the Meals and Drug Administration didn’t approve it till November 2023.
Thomas C. Tsai, the research’s lead creator and a bariatric surgeon at Brigham and Ladies’s Hospital in Boston, mentioned he pursued the research after he seen an uptick in sufferers canceling their surgical procedures to pursue weight reduction by way of GLP-1 medication.
Tsai mentioned he was additionally “listening to a number of concern from surgeons across the nation that their quantity was dropping fairly considerably.”
Tsai wished to supply a nationwide glimpse of how GLP-1 medicines would possibly deter shoppers from bariatric surgical procedure. In an interview, he additionally cited anecdotal reviews of hospitals that shut down bariatric surgical procedure packages because the variety of sufferers searching for operations slumped. Hospitals have closed bariatric surgical procedure packages in Boston and Norman, Oklahoma.
If hospitals shut these weight reduction surgical procedure facilities, sufferers in these communities would have fewer choices. “There are some sufferers who may very well profit from surgical procedure, they usually’re not getting it,” Tsai mentioned.
In 2022, almost 280,000 metabolic and bariatric procedures had been carried out in the USA, in response to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgical procedure. That represented about 1% of all U.S. residents eligible for weight reduction operations.
Weight reduction operations elevated in 2022 from the yr earlier than, maybe because of spillover from the COVID-19 pandemic when lockdowns in 2020 and delays in non-emergency operations in 2020 and 2021 created a backlog of demand, Tsai mentioned. He mentioned demand for weight reduction operations would doubtless have elevated in 2023 if not for the sudden reputation of GLP-1 medication.
Different consultants mentioned they anticipated the downturn in bariatric surgical procedures could be a blip as sufferers turn into accustomed to GLP-1s as one amongst many weight reduction choices. The CDC estimates that about 40% of U.S. residents have weight problems and 1 in 10 have extreme weight problems.
“The general public I do know who’re in my line of labor should not afraid of GLP-1s,” mentioned Ann M. Rogers, director of the Penn State surgical weight reduction program. “We’re glad to have them come alongside as a result of it is making individuals notice they’ve a medical drawback that there could also be remedies for, versus not getting any remedy.”
Whereas taking remedy would possibly appear to be a fast and simple choice to drop some pounds, there are obstacles.
Weight reduction operations carry threat, however so do weight reduction medicines. Individuals on weight reduction medication have reported unwanted effects corresponding to abdomen ache, diarrhea and gallbladder points. Others do not have insurance coverage protection and might’t afford the medication, which might price greater than $1,300 a month.
A research by the Blue Cross Blue Protect Affiliation discovered greater than half the individuals prescribed weight reduction medication Saxenda and Wegovy over the previous decade ended their remedy too early to appreciate significant well being advantages.
However Rogers sees a silver lining within the quantity of people that attempt to give up weight reduction medication.
“There’s this enormous inhabitants on the market that both is afraid to get remedy, would not have protection or is ashamed,” mentioned Rogers, president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgical procedure. “If they do not have protection for it, or it is too costly, or they’ve unwanted effects, they could then assume, ‘Perhaps I ought to attempt the surgical procedure.'”
