Weight Loss After Antiobesity Medication Initiation Lowers Joint Revision Risk

THURSDAY, Feb. 27, 2025 (HealthDay News) — For patients with obesity undergoing joint replacement, higher weight loss after initiating antiobesity medications within one year is associated with a lower risk for revision, according to a study published online Feb. 21 in JAMA Network Open.

Dongxing Xie, M.D., Ph.D., from Central South University in Changsha, China, and colleagues examined the association of the proportion of postoperative weight loss following antiobesity medication use with the risk for revision among patients with obesity undergoing hip or knee replacement in a retrospective cohort study.

The researchers found that the five-year risks for revision among 3,691 participants were 5.6, 4.4, and 3.7 percent for groups with weight gain or stable weight, small-to-moderate weight loss (2 to 10 percent), and large weight loss (≥10 percent), respectively. The hazard ratios were 0.75 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.55 to 1.04) and 0.57 (0.36 to 0.91) for the small-to-moderate and large weight-loss groups compared with the weight gain or stable weight groups. When the analyses were performed separately for hip or knee replacement, the results were similar. The hazard ratios for revision were 0.55 (0.32 to 0.93) and 0.49 (0.25 to 0.97) for the small-to-moderate and large weight-loss groups, respectively, compared with the weight gain or stable weight group in patients undergoing knee replacement, and 0.82 (0.54 to 1.25) and 0.53 (0.30 to 0.93) for patients undergoing hip replacement. Consistent findings were seen for 10-year risks.

“Antiobesity medication use, with relatively safe, effective, and sustainable weight loss, may be a good strategy for improving implant survivorship among patients with obesity undergoing hip or knee replacement,” the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

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