TOPLINE

Treatment with GLP-1 drugs could be associated with an increased risk for dysesthesia — abnormal skin sensations such as burning, tingling, or heightened sensitivity. Greater body-weight reduction may have contributed to this risk, with each 1% reduction in body weight linked to a 34% increase in the odds of developing this adverse event. 

METHODOLOGY

• Dysesthesia has been reported with GLP-1 use in pharmacovigilance data, though its cause remains unclear, with weight loss suspected as a possible factor.
• Researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of placebo-controlled clinical trials to evaluate the association between approved GLP-1 drugs and the risk for dysesthesia; they also examined whether associated weight loss contributed to its development. 
• A total of 15 studies encompassing 23 publications and five different GLP-1 medicines were included; these studies reported dysesthesia or related terms as adverse events.
• Subgroup analyses stratified intervention arms by dose (high, medium, low) and diabetes status (with or without diabetes).
• The primary endpoint was odds ratio (OR) for dysesthesia.

TAKEAWAY

• GLP-1 drugs were associated with more than three times higher odds of dysesthesia compared with placebo in a pooled meta-analysis of 15 studies (OR, 3.10; P = .01).
• High-dose GLP-1 therapy showed a stronger association with dysesthesia in the subgroup analysis (OR, 6.19; P = .001); however, medium- and low-dose therapy did not show any significant association.
• Greater percentage body‑weight reduction correlated with a higher risk for dysesthesia (beta-coefficient = 0.29; P = .007); each 1% increase in body-weight reduction was tied to a 34% increase in the odds of this adverse event (exponentiated beta-coefficient, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.11-1.62).

IN PRACTICE

"These findings should raise awareness about the potential link between GLP-1 therapies and dysaesthesia. Ongoing clinical trials of GLP-1 medicines should include dysaesthesia as an AE [adverse event] of special interest to further expand the understanding of the risk of dysaesthesia in individuals treated with GLP-1 medicines," the researchers wrote. 

SOURCE

The study was led by Ronald M. Goldenberg, LMC Diabetes & Endocrinology, Concord, Ontario, Canada. It was published online as a Research Letter in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism.

LIMITATIONS

The search covered only two databases, so some dysesthesia cases may have been missed. Most trials screened were excluded because they didn't report the adverse event of dysesthesia. The events that were captured were typically collected during routine adverse-event surveillance.

DISCLOSURES

The authors did not report any funding source. They disclosed receiving research support and/or personal, advisory, and speaking fees from multiple pharmaceutical companies and organizations.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.