Disparities in Access to Obesity Drug GLP-1 Agonists in the US Unveiled

TL/DR –

Fewer than 3% of eligible obese people in the U.S. receive prescriptions for glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, with access varying by sex, race/ethnicity, and location, according to a study led by Chungsoo Kim of Yale School of Medicine. The study found men were approximately 60% less likely than women to get a prescription, and non-Hispanic white patients were most likely to be prescribed the drug. People living in socially vulnerable areas or in rural areas were also less likely to receive a prescription for GLP-1 drugs.

Inadequate Adoption of GLP-1 Drugs in Obesity Patients

Only 3% of eligible obese patients in the U.S. receive prescriptions for glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, according to recent data. The drug adoption rate varied based on demographic factors like sex, race/ethnicity, and patients’ living locations. The study by Yale School of Medicine researchers was published in JAMA.

Senior author Yuan Lu stated that the adoption of this new medicine class was slow in clinical practice, with specific groups identified as being underserved. It is significant to observe these trends since GLP-1 drugs are being studied for various diseases, including sleep apnea, atrial fibrillation, and heart failure.

GLP-1 Drug Adoption Rates Based on Data from Epic Cosmos Dataset

The researchers used the Epic Cosmos Dataset containing 277 million electronic health records to identify eligible patients. Only 2.3% of eligible individuals received a prescription for semaglutide or tirzepatide from July 2020 to October 2024. Patients who got a GLP-1 drug prescription were younger and had higher BMI than those who did not.

Men were 60% less likely than women to get a prescription. Non-Hispanic white patients had the highest prescription rate, with non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic Asian patients having significantly lower rates. Patients from socially vulnerable areas and rural areas were also less likely to get a GLP-1 script.

GLP-1 Drug Adoption: Need for Monitoring and Developing Strategies

While prescription rates increased over time, the growth was primarily in metropolitan and less vulnerable areas. The disparities might be due to systemic and patient-level barriers, such as eligibility, insurance coverage, and financial constraints.

Prescribed patients had an average of five clinical encounters before getting their prescriptions. Financial factors, such as insurance coverage and out-of-pocket expenses, were significant barriers to adoption. The study stresses the need for strategies to ensure equitable access and to monitor evolving prescribing patterns.

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