Impact of Semaglutide on Osteoarthritis Risk in Obese Patients: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Abstract Background Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent degenerative joint disorder. While the effect of obesity on OA is well documented, less is known about the effect of approved anti-obesity medications (AOM) such as semaglutide on OA. Objective To determine the impact of semaglutide on the risk of OA in obese patients in the United States. Materials and Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study utilizing Kythera Medicare data from January 2020 to August 2022. Two cohorts of patients with obesity were identified: those taking semaglutide AOMs and those not taking any AOM. A randomly chosen 10% of identified patients who did not take AOM were included in the latter group. Patients in the AOM group had at least 1 pharmacy claim for Ozempic or Wegovy. The presence of OA was determined using diagnosis codes at outpatient and inpatient visits. Multivariate analysis was utilized to adjust for demographic variables and comorbidities. Results After controlling for demographic and clinical factors, the AOM cohort had a lower risk of OA than the non-AOM cohort (HR, 0.90; p < .0001). Conclusions The inverse effect of semaglutide usage on reduced risk of OA demonstrates that this AOM may be effective in preventing OA.