Oral Semaglutide in Routine Clinical Practice: Characteristics of People with Type 2 Diabetes Started on the Drug and Changes in Their Clinical Parameters after 24 Weeks of Treatment

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Semaglutide is the unique once-daily oral glucagon-like receptor agonist presently available. Aims of this study were to describe clinical characteristics of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) initiating oral semaglutide, to assess its effects on glycemic control, body weight (BW) and its tolerability in routine clinical practice. Methods: Electronic medical records from two Italian diabetes clinics were evaluated. Mean glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and BW were assessed in adults with T2D before and 6 months after oral semaglutide prescription. Treatment discontinuation and safety data were reported. Results: A total of 192 patients initiating oral semaglutide (44% female) presented a mean age of 66 years, a diabetes duration of 10 years, HbA1c of 7.9% and a BW of 82.6 kg. Almost 50% of patients were obese. Mean HbA1c and BW changes from baseline to follow up were −0.7% and −2.6 kg, respectively. Greater HbA1c reduction was observed in patients with baseline HbA1c ≥ 8% and with diabetes duration <5 years. The composite endpoint of HbA1c ≤7% and a weight loss ≥5% was achieved in 22.5% of the participants. A total of 40 patients (20.8%) discontinued treatment: 26 because of gastrointestinal adverse events, and 10 due to limited effectiveness in lowering HbA1c and/or BW. Conclusions: In a real clinical setting, patients initiating oral semaglutide showed suboptimal metabolic control, short diabetes duration and obesity; a significant improvement in HbA1c and BW was achieved mainly in patients with a more recent diabetes diagnosis, supporting the use of oral semaglutide in the early phase of the disease.