Topline
New study results found weight loss and diabetes drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro may significantly cut the risk of diabetes in people with prediabetes and obesity, adding to the growing list of diseases researchers have found the drugs can prevent.
Key Facts
Drug manufacturer Eli Lilly announced the results from a three-year study that found its drug tirzepatide slashed the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 94% in adults with prediabetes who also are obese or overweight.
Tirzepatide is the active ingredient in Mounjaro, the company’s approved diabetes drug, and Zepbound, the company’s approved weight-loss drug.
The drug also caused participants to lose weight: Those taking the highest 15 mg dose lost an average of 23% of their body weight compared to the placebo group, which only lost 2.1%.
However, during a 17-week follow up period when participants stopped treatment, weight was regained, and there was “some increase in the progression to type 2 diabetes,” though they still had an 88% reduction in risk, according to Lilly.
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The most commonly reported adverse events among the study group were mild to moderate gastrointestinal issues like diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and constipation.
Big Number
98 million. That’s about how many Americans have prediabetes, totaling around one in three adults in the U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
What Is Prediabetes?
People with prediabetes have higher than normal blood sugar levels, but they aren’t high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes. It’s caused by insulin resistance—the same thing that causes type 2 diabetes—which can happen because of genetics, excess body fat, a diet high in processed foods, physical inactivity, chronic stress, lack of sleep, long-term steroid use and hormonal disorders like cushings disease. Although prediabetes is fairly common, most Americans (80%) don’t know they have it, according to the Cleveland Clinic. This is because prediabetes often doesn’t have any symptoms, though some people do experience symptoms like skin tags, eye changes and darkened skin around the armpits, back or neck. However, prediabetes is reversible through lifestyle changes like weight loss, according to Yale Medicine.
Key Background
Mounjaro was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2022, and Zepbound was approved in 2023. Prediabetes isn’t the only disease tirzepatide has been found to prevent. Participants taking tirzepatide with high blood pressure saw up to a 10.6 point reduction in blood pressure, according to a February study. Earlier this month, Lilly revealed trial results that found patients taking tirzepatide had a 38% lower risk of death or hospitalization because of heart complications. The drug drastically slowed the progression of kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes and an increased cardiovascular risk, according to the American Diabetes Association. Tirzepatide also significantly reduces sleep apnea symptoms.
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