TOPLINE:

Patients with overweight or obesity who received brand-name versions of the GLP-1 receptor agonist semaglutide through a nationwide telehealth platform achieved a mean body weight reduction of 16.6% at 68 weeks, with women showing significantly better outcomes than men.

METHODOLOGY:

• In the STEP 1 trial, semaglutide yielded a mean weight reduction of 14.9% over 68 weeks with a favorable safety profile. Most real-world studies — primarily involving patients treated in traditional in-person care settings — reported lower levels of weight loss, and the effectiveness and safety of semaglutide delivered via telehealth for obesity management remain largely unexamined.
• Researchers analyzed deidentified electronic health records from a random sample of 4500 patients who initiated semaglutide treatment via the telehealth platform Ro (Roman Health Ventures) for overweight and obesity between December 1, 2022, and June 1, 2023.
• They included 655 patients (mean age, 45.8 years; 67.9% women; mean BMI, 32.3) who exclusively used brand-name semaglutide (Wegovy or Ozempic) through week 68 and had a follow-up weight measurement within 14 days before or after that timepoint.
• Participants received comprehensive, typically asynchronous, weight management care from teams that include physicians, advanced practice providers, pharmacists, nurses, and patient navigators.
• The primary outcome was the percentage of weight change from baseline to 68 weeks.

TAKEAWAY:

• At 68 weeks, the mean percentage of body weight loss was 16.6%, with women achieving greater loss (18.1%) than men (13.4%).
• Compared with men, women had consistently higher odds of achieving weight loss across all thresholds, with odds ratios of 4.26 for ≥ 5% weight loss, 5.9 for ≥ 10% weight loss, and 2.51 for ≥ 20% weight loss (P < .001 for all).
• Gastrointestinal adverse events were the most common, with 37.3% of patients reporting nausea or vomiting and 15.6% reporting constipation.

IN PRACTICE:

“This study demonstrates that patients treated with semaglutide through a nationwide telehealth platform achieved weight-loss outcomes comparable to those reported in clinical trials, adding to the growing body of evidence of the potential of telehealth to provide a scalable, safe, and effective approach to weight management,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

This study, led by Beverly Tchang, Comprehensive Weight Control Center, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, was published online in Obesity.

LIMITATIONS:

The retrospective observational design may have introduced potential bias. The study population was predominantly White and female. The reliance on self-reported weights and comorbidities introduced potential inaccuracies.

DISCLOSURES:

Roman Health Ventures funded the study. Five authors declared being full-time employees of and holding stock options in Roman Health Ventures, and two of them reported holding minor shareholdings or stock/options in other healthcare companies. One author reported receiving advisory or consulting fees and equity from healthcare companies, receiving an honorarium from WebMD, serving on a data-safety monitoring board, and being the founder and president of a professional society. Another author and/or his institutions reported receiving grants, contracts, gifts, equity, stock options, or advisory/consulting fees from numerous commercial and nonprofit organizations, and he reported serving on scientific advisory boards.

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