ATLANTA — Tirzepatide appeared highly effective in reducing weight among women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and overweight or obesity, real-world data from a retrospective analysis of over 4000 women enrolled in a digital weight-loss service suggested.

“This cohort represents the largest study to date examining the weight-loss effect of tirzepatide in women living with PCOS and overweight/obesity,” said David R. Huang, MBBS, medical director at Voy, the London-based service, which includes medication combined with access to a digital platform that also provides coaching, other support, and information.

“Our results demonstrate the striking real-world effectiveness of tirzepatide in these individuals,” he reported at the Obesity Society’s Obesity Week 2025.

Between 5% and 10% of women have PCOS, making it the most common endocrine condition affecting women. Weight loss is a key component of treatment, with the aim of improving symptoms, insulin resistance, and long-term cardiovascular health.

Tirzepatide has been shown to cause significant weight loss, but few data have been available on its efficacy in women with PCOS, Huang said at the meeting.

The study included a total of 4241 women with obesity (BMI 30+) or overweight (BMI 27+) with at least one other comorbidity and self-reported PCOS who started tirzepatide between February 2024 and January 2025. The women had a mean age of 34 years, and a median baseline BMI of 35.6.

Mean weight loss at 10 months on tirzepatide was 18.81%, highly significant. Digital engagement — defined as participation in monthly coaching, monthly use of the app, and weekly weight tracking — was associated with even greater weight loss, 21.02% vs 17.23% for those not digitally engaged.

By 10 months, 96.6% of the entire cohort had lost ≥ 5% of their body weight, and 90.1% had lost ≥ 10%.

Asked to comment, session moderator John W. Apolzan, PhD, associate professor in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, told Medscape Medical News, “Unfortunately they didn’t have biomarkers to show whether the condition really changed, but they were able to achieve significant weight loss, which is important.”

Apolzan added, “PCOS is a lot more prevalent in the population than many people realize. We [in obesity medicine] don’t study it extensively since it falls more under women’s health, but it’s an important condition and we have the potential to hopefully treat it.”

Huang is employed by Voy. Apolzan reported having no disclosures.

Miriam E. Tucker is a freelance journalist based in the Washington, DC, area. She is a regular contributor to Medscape Medical News, with other work appearing in The Washington Post, NPR’s Shots blog, and diaTribe. She is on X @MiriamETucker and BlueSky @miriametucker.bsky.social.