Several Factors Play Role in Semaglutide Initiation for Obesity Without Diabetes

THURSDAY, Jan. 23, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Sociodemographic, health care, and clinical factors are associated with receipt of semaglutide in those with obesity but without diabetes, according to a study published online Jan. 21 in JAMA Network Open.

Meghan I. Podolsky, from the Boston University School of Public Health, and colleagues explored factors associated with semaglutide initiation among commercially insured individuals with obesity but no diagnosed diabetes. The analysis included 97,456 adults with a first diagnosis of obesity (June 5, 2021, to July 1, 2022) identified from the Merative MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database.

The researchers found that 2.0 percent of individuals initiated semaglutide within six months of their initial obesity diagnosis. A random-forest model had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.71 for predicting semaglutide initiation. In a Shapley Additive Explanations plot, the most important exposures identified were sex, use of antidepressants, and employer industry. In the logistic regression model of the top 20 factors, significant associations for semaglutide initiation included being female (adjusted odds ratio, 2.30), using certain medication classes including antidepressants (adjusted odds ratio, 1.62), and being covered by a point-of-service plan (adjusted odds ratio, 1.78).

“These findings suggest that insurance plan type and structure may be a crucial intervention point for improving equity in obesity treatment access,” the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to Swiss Re and Johnson & Johnson.

Abstract/Full Text