Diabetic Status, Advanced Age, and Hispanic Ethnicity Predict Poorer Weight Loss in Patients With Obesity Receiving Semaglutide.

OBJECTIVE: Define demographic and clinical predictors of weight loss outcomes in patients with obesity prescribed semaglutide in real-world practice. METHODS: We identified 163 patients with elevated body mass index (>25 kg/m) taking weekly semaglutide for at least 12 months, seen at a gastroenterology-based, multidisciplinary obesity clinic in New York City. The primary outcome was percent total weight loss (%TWL) after 12 months on weekly injectable semaglutide. Secondary outcomes included % of patients achieving >5% TWL and clinical factors affecting treatment course, including gastrointestinal side effects, dosing achieved, and number of provider visits. RESULTS: In total, 163 of the 294 (55.4%) patients prescribed semaglutide during the study period continued it for at least 12 months. Mean weight loss achieved at this timepoint was 8.1 ± 18.5 kg (8.1% ± 8.3% TWL). Patient-identified Hispanic ethnicity (95% CI, -6.82 to -0.55; P = .02), history of type 2 diabetes (95% CI, 0.74-5.76; P = .01), and age >60 years (95% CI, -14.76 to -2.41; P = .007) were associated with reduced weight loss on univariable analysis. Development of gastrointestinal side effects (95% CI, 1.86-3.36; P = .57) and provider visit number were not associated with weight loss outcomes (95% CI, 0.15-0.28; P = .56). Patient-identified Hispanic ethnicity was independently associated with failure to achieve 5% TWL on multivariable regression (odds ratio, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.14-0.74). CONCLUSION: This study suggested weight loss with weekly semaglutide was influenced by specific factors, including diabetes status, older age, and Hispanic ethnicity in our real-world clinic, although further research is needed to define prognosticators of weight loss across populations.