Effectiveness and Safety of Semaglutide for Weight Loss in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Obesity

Abstract

Abstract Background Semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, has shown sustained and clinically significant weight loss in the general population. There are limited data on outcomes of its use in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted between June 4, 2021, and December 11, 2023, using TriNetX, a U.S. multi-institutional database in patients with obesity who had IBD compared with patients without IBD. The primary aim was to assess the mean total body weight (TBW) change between 6 and 15 months from initiation of semaglutide compared with baseline between the 2 cohorts. One-to-one (1:1) propensity score matching was performed for demographics, comorbid conditions, smoking status, and mean body mass index. A 2-sample t test was performed to assess mean TBW change from baseline, with a P value <.05 considered to be statistically significant. We also compared the risk of IBD-specific outcomes with and without semaglutide use in patients with IBD. Results Out of 47 424 patients with IBD and obesity, 150 (0.3%) patients were prescribed semaglutide (mean age 47.4 ± 12.2 years; mean TBW 237 ± 54.8 pounds; mean body mass index 36.9 ± 6.5 kg/m2; 66% Crohn’s disease). There was no difference in mean TBW change after initiation of semaglutide in the IBD and non-IBD cohorts (−16 ± 13.4 pounds vs −18 ± 12.7 pounds; P = .24). There was no difference in mean TBW change between 6 and 12 months (−16 ± 13 pounds vs −15 ± 11.2 pounds; P = .24) and 12 and 15 months (−20 ± 13.2 pounds vs −21 ± 15.3 pounds; P = .49) between the 2 cohorts. There was no difference in the risk of oral or intravenous steroid use and any-cause hospitalization in the semaglutide group compared with the group without semaglutide use in patients with IBD. Conclusion Semaglutide use is effective in patients with IBD and obesity similar to patients without IBD, with >5% mean weight loss. There was no increased risk of IBD-specific adverse events with semaglutide use.