Semaglutide Boosts Kidney Outcomes With Obesity + Cardiovascular Disease

TUESDAY, May 28, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Once-weekly subcutaneous semaglutide shows a benefit for kidney outcomes in people with overweight or obesity and established cardiovascular disease, according to a study presented at the annual European Renal Association Congress, held from May 23 to 26 in Stockholm.

Helen M. Colhoun, M.D., from the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a secondary and exploratory analysis on kidney outcomes among participants in the SELECT trial. The analysis included people with overweight or obesity without diabetes (8,803 participants randomly assigned to semaglutide and 8,801 to placebo) followed for a median of 182 weeks.

The researchers found that the main composite nephropathy end point (death from kidney causes; initiation of chronic kidney replacement therapy; onset of persistent estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] <15 mL/min/1.73 m²; persistent ≥50 percent reduction in eGFR versus baseline; or onset of persistent macroalbuminuria) occurred in fewer of those assigned semaglutide (1.8 versus 2.2 percent with placebo; hazard ratio, 0.78). The composite end point was driven by the treatment effect on onset of macroalbuminuria and, to a lesser extent, persistent ≥50 percent reduction in eGFR. At the prespecified 104-week time point, semaglutide was associated with lesser decline in eGFR than placebo, yielding a treatment effect of 0.75 mL/min/1.73 m². The proportionate increase in urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio at 104 weeks was less in the semaglutide arm than the placebo arm, yielding a treatment effect of –10.7 percent. There was no association seen between semaglutide and excess acute kidney injury, regardless of baseline eGFR.

“By addressing key markers of kidney health, semaglutide 2.4 mg weekly may contribute to a significant reduction in the risk of kidney-related complications, including chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease,” Colhoun said in a statement. “This could lead to improved management of comorbidities and, ultimately, enhance the quality of life for individuals with obesity.”

Several authors are employed by Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of semaglutide.

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