The number of 12- to 25-year-olds using GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy has climbed by almost 600%, according to a recent analysis of dispensing records from nearly 94% of American retail pharmacies from 2020 to 2023.
The scientists said they used the IQVIA prescription database to compile the first look at the national uptake of GLP-1 drugs among that age group, reports The Independent.
Nearly 31 000 children aged 12 to 17, and more than 162 000 people aged 18 to 25 used the medications in 2023 alone, said Dr Joyce Lee, a University of Michigan paediatrician and diabetes expert who led the research, which was published in JAMA.
“What it’s suggesting is that it’s one of the tools in the toolbox and there are more providers prescribing this medication for the population,” she said.
The number of 12- to 25-year-olds using any GLP-1 drug – including older medications first approved to treat diabetes in 2005 and for weight loss in 2014 – skyrocketed from about 8 700 a month in 2020 to more than 60 000 a month in 2023, a nearly 600% increase.
The rise occurred even as prescriptions of other drugs among those patients fell by about 3%.
Those who received the drugs were just a fraction of the young people who struggle with obesity, Lee noted.
About 20% of US children and adolescents and about 42% of adults have the chronic disease, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In early 2023, the American Academy of Paediatrics recommended that children and teens with obesity be evaluated early and treated aggressively, including with surgery and medication if warranted.
In late 2022, the weight-loss drug Wegovy had been approved for use in American youngsters over 12.
More than 6 000 children in that age group received Wegovy in 2023, the new data show, and more than 7 600 received Ozempic, which is approved to treat diabetes in adults, but can be used off-label in adolescents.
Others received older GLP-1 drugs such as Saxenda and Trulicity.
Lee said some young people report nausea, vomiting or constipation, including symptoms so serious that they stop the drugs, and that it was important to understand the surging use of these medications in young people.
The drugs are meant for continuing use, so “we really need to think about their long-term safety and effectiveness for this population”.
The Independent article – Ozempic use up by 600% in children, young adults (Open access)
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