TOPLINE: 

In patients with overweight or obesity and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the GLP-1 liraglutide significantly reduces obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) severity and improves quality-of-life measures over 40 weeks.

METHODOLOGY: 

• Weight-loss medications have shown benefits for OSA, but their effectiveness in patients with coexisting COPD is unclear.
• Researchers conducted an exploratory secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial conducted at two Danish hospitals to assess OSA prevalence and the effect of liraglutide on OSA severity in patients with COPD.
• The analysis included 40 patients aged 40-70 years with BMI > 27, randomly assigned to liraglutide (n = 19; titrated to 3.0 mg subcutaneously) or placebo (n = 20) for 40 weeks.
• OSA prevalence and severity were assessed at baseline and week 40 using the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and oxygen desaturation index (ODI) from overnight cardiorespiratory monitoring. Daytime sleepiness and health‑related quality of life were evaluated using self‑administered questionnaires.

TAKEAWAY: 

• OSA was highly prevalent at baseline, affecting 84% of participants.
• Liraglutide significantly reduced OSA severity vs placebo, with mean baseline-adjusted reductions of -9.87 events/hour in AHI (P = .044) and -10.16 events/hour in ODI (P = .029).
• Daytime sleepiness did not differ significantly between groups despite improvements in OSA measures.
• Health-related quality of life improved in two domains with liraglutide: general health perceptions (+13.1 points) and role physical (+9.1 points; P < .05 for both). 

IN PRACTICE:

"Our study suggests that liraglutide may be an appropriate additional treatment option in people with overweight or obesity, COPD and OSA," the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Sofie Krogh Wolsing, University Hospital of Southern Denmark, Vejle. It was published online in Clinical Obesity.

LIMITATIONS: 

The study was not specifically powered to detect changes in secondary outcomes, such as daytime sleepiness or health‑related quality-of-life domains. Baseline lung function differences between groups may have influenced AHI and ODI outcomes. The modest sample size limits generalizability.

DISCLOSURES:

This study was funded by Novo Nordisk, the Karola Jørgensen Research Foundation, the Research Council of the Hospital of South West Jutland, and other sources. One author disclosed serving as a speaker for Novo Nordisk but no financial interest in the current study.

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