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TOPLINE:

Nationally representative survey data revealed that glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) use for obesity treatment more than tripled among US adults without diabetes between 2018 and 2022, with annual expenditures reaching $5.8 billion in 2022.

METHODOLOGY:

• Although approximately 93 million US adults are potentially eligible for obesity treatment with GLP-1 RAs, estimates of current use and spending are limited to individuals with diabetes or are based on unrepresentative samples.
• Researchers analyzed data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component (2018 to 2022) to estimate annual prescription fills and national expenditures on GLP-1 RAs among US adults without a prior diagnosis of diabetes (excluding those with gestational diabetes).
• Surveyed households provided data on demographics, medical conditions, healthcare use, and spending, with follow-back surveys of pharmacies primarily used to establish drug pricing.

TAKEAWAY:

• The unweighted sample included 89,854 adults (51.8% women; 30.7% with a body mass index ≥ 30).
• Annual prevalence of GLP-1 RA use among US adults without diabetes increased from 0.1% in 2018-2021 to 0.4% in 2022, with an estimated 854,728 adults without diabetes taking these medications.
• Annual GLP-1 RA spending increased from $1.6 billion in 2018-2021 to $5.8 billion in 2022.
• Between 2018 and 2022, the mean number of prescriptions per user was 4.1, with a mean expenditure of $1540 and an average out-of-pocket cost of $34.68 per prescription.

IN PRACTICE:

“Despite [increased use], adoption remained limited as only 1 in 250 US adults without diabetes used a GLP-1 RA in 2022,” the authors of the study wrote. “Average prices for these medications consistently exceeded $1500 per prescription, although average out-of-pocket costs were well contained, potentially due to people without private insurance being disproportionately less likely to access these medications,” the authors concluded.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Cade Shadbolt, MA, and Jasmin Elkin, The University of Melbourne, St. Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, Fitzroy, Australia. It was published online in Annals of Internal Medicine.

LIMITATIONS: 

Multiple prescriptions filled by the same individuals may have influenced mean cost estimates. COVID-19 restrictions also posed challenges for survey collection, though data quality assessments during the pandemic yielded encouraging results. Disclosure restrictions limited detailed reporting on spending for less commonly prescribed GLP-1 RAs.

DISCLOSURES:

One author received support from the Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship. Other authors reported serving as consultants for or having grants, contracts, or other ties with various organizations and pharmaceutical companies.

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