Effectiveness and Safety of Semaglutide for Weight Loss in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Obesity

Aakash Desai; Himsikhar Khataniar; Jana G Hashash; Francis A Farraye; Miguel Regueiro; Gursimran S Kochhar

doi:10.1093/ibd/izae090

Effectiveness and Safety of Semaglutide for Weight Loss in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Obesity

Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2024 Apr 20:izae090. doi: 10.1093/ibd/izae090. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Aakash Desai¹, Himsikhar Khataniar², Jana G Hashash¹, Francis A Farraye¹, Miguel Regueiro³, Gursimran S Kochhar⁴

Affiliations

¹ Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA.
² Department of Medicine, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
³ Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA.
⁴ Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

PMID: 38642103
DOI: 10.1093/ibd/izae090

Abstract

Background: Semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, has shown sustained and clinically significant weight loss in the general population. There are limited data on outcomes of its use in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted between June 4, 2021, and December 11, 2023, using TriNetX, a U.S. multi-institutional database in patients with obesity who had IBD compared with patients without IBD. The primary aim was to assess the mean total body weight (TBW) change between 6 and 15 months from initiation of semaglutide compared with baseline between the 2 cohorts. One-to-one (1:1) propensity score matching was performed for demographics, comorbid conditions, smoking status, and mean body mass index. A 2-sample t test was performed to assess mean TBW change from baseline, with a P value <.05 considered to be statistically significant. We also compared the risk of IBD-specific outcomes with and without semaglutide use in patients with IBD.

Results: Out of 47 424 patients with IBD and obesity, 150 (0.3%) patients were prescribed semaglutide (mean age 47.4 ± 12.2 years; mean TBW 237 ± 54.8 pounds; mean body mass index 36.9 ± 6.5 kg/m2; 66% Crohn's disease). There was no difference in mean TBW change after initiation of semaglutide in the IBD and non-IBD cohorts (-16 ± 13.4 pounds vs -18 ± 12.7 pounds; P = .24). There was no difference in mean TBW change between 6 and 12 months (-16 ± 13 pounds vs -15 ± 11.2 pounds; P = .24) and 12 and 15 months (-20 ± 13.2 pounds vs -21 ± 15.3 pounds; P = .49) between the 2 cohorts. There was no difference in the risk of oral or intravenous steroid use and any-cause hospitalization in the semaglutide group compared with the group without semaglutide use in patients with IBD.

Conclusion: Semaglutide use is effective in patients with IBD and obesity similar to patients without IBD, with >5% mean weight loss. There was no increased risk of IBD-specific adverse events with semaglutide use.

Keywords: inflammatory bowel disease; obesity; semaglutide.

Plain language summary

Semaglutide use in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and obesity is associated with similar weight loss compared with patients without IBD, with a >5% mean weight loss. There was no increased risk of IBD-specific adverse events with semaglutide use.

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