Daily Dose: Tirzepatide Leads to 15% Weight Loss in Adults with Obesity, T2D

Patient Care brings primary care clinicians a lot of medical news every day—it’s easy to miss an important study. The Daily Dose provides a concise summary of one of the website's leading stories you may not have seen.

On June 23, 2023, we reported on a study presented at the 83rd Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association^® and simultaneously published in The Lancet.

The study

SURMOUNT-2, a randomized placebo-controlled phase 3 clinical trial was designed to evaluate how tirzepatide, a dual GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide) and GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) receptor agonist, affects body weight in overweight individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D).

Investigators randomly assigned 938 participants who had T2D and who had overweight or obesity in a 1:1:1 ratio to receive tirzepatide 10 mg, tirzepatide 15 mg, or placebo. The coprimary endpoints were mean percent change from baseline in body weight and the percentage of participants who achieve a reduction in body weight of at least 5%, both outcomes evaluated through 72 weeks.

The findings

Investigators reported that participants in the groups treated with tirzepatide 10 and 15 mg lost an average of 15% of starting body weight after 72 weeks of treatment. Overall mean weight loss among tirzepatide-treated patients was 14.8 kg or 33 pounds. Mean baseline HbA1c of 8% was reduced to 5.9% at week 72. Moreover, the researchers found that half (49%) of SURMOUNT-2 participants who received tirzepatide reach a normal HbA1c of less than 5.7% without no reports of severe hypoglycemia.

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