In a retrospective case-control study conducted at Mayo Clinic Rochester, researchers looked into the use of anti-obesity medications (AOM) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) compared to non-IBD controls.
The study aimed to measure the effectiveness and safety of AOM, including liraglutide, semaglutide, orlistat, phentermine-topiramate, phentermine, and naltrexone-bupropion, in helping individuals with obesity and IBD lose weight.
Key findings:
– The study used a matched case-control design with 72 patients (36 IBD cases and 36 controls without IBD) identified between 2001 and 2022.
– The primary outcome measured was percent total body weight loss (%TBWL) at 12 months, showing no significant difference between IBD cases and controls (-6.9% vs -8.1%, P = 0.30).
– Secondary outcomes included medication side effects, serious adverse events, and IBD flares, with similar rates of gastrointestinal side effects observed between IBD cases and controls.
– Seven patients (19.4%) with IBD experienced an IBD flare during the study period, particularly those with mild-to-moderate disease at baseline. This required adjustments in medical management but no surgeries. However, it’s difficult to correlate IBD flare and obesity medications due to the natural course of expected IBD flare-ups during the year.
The study concludes that AOM can be equally effective and tolerable in patients with IBD as in non-IBD individuals for promoting weight loss over 12 months. The findings suggest that AOM could be a viable noninvasive weight loss option for select patients with IBD, warranting further investigation in larger prospective studies.
Pham, Jonathan T. MD1; Ghusn, Wissam MD2,3; Acosta, Andres MD, PhD2,3; Loftus, Edward V. Jr MD2; Johnson, Amanda M. MD2. Effectiveness and Safety of Antiobesity Medications in Patients With Obesity and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The American Journal of Gastroenterology 119(6):p 1197-1200, June 2024. | DOI: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000002490
Link to the study:
https://journals.lww.com/ajg/fulltext/2024/06000/effectiveness_and_safety_of_antiobesity.35.aspx?context=featuredarticles&collectionid=5