BMI Improvement With Liraglutide Possible in Teens Regardless of Baseline Traits

Liraglutide led to significant reductions in body mass index (BMI) in teens regardless of their obesity category, glycemic status, depressive symptoms, and a handful of other baseline characteristics, according to a post hoc analysis of a randomized controlled trial published in Pediatric Obesity.

“These results suggest that liraglutide may be a relevant treatment option for adolescents with obesity with an insufficient response to lifestyle therapy, irrespective of baseline characteristics,” wrote corresponding author Megan O. Bensignor, MD, of the University of Minnesota Center for Pediatric Obesity Medicine in Minneapolis, and study coauthors. 

Researchers conducted a secondary analysis of data from the SCALE Teens trial of pubertal adolescents with obesity. Results from the study showed that liraglutide significantly reduced BMI standard deviation score on average compared with placebo. Yet, similar to adults, the effect of the drug on BMI reduction varied widely among teen participants. Consequently, investigators were interested in identifying baseline characteristics that predicted BMI reductions between 5% and 10% at 56 weeks.

The analysis spanned 125 adolescents who received liraglutide and 126 who received placebo.  

BMI reduction with liraglutide was not affected by any of the baseline characteristics analyzed, researchers reported. Potential characteristics in the study included age, race, ethnicity, age, pubertal stage, glycemic status (hyperglycemia vs normoglycemia), obesity category (Class II/III vs I), severity of depression symptoms, and weight fluctuations over time.

Adolescents who achieved a 4% or greater BMI reduction by week 16, however, showed greater reductions in BMI and body weight at week 56 than participants who did not have a similar early response, according to the study.

“Of note, 16.3% of liraglutide early nonresponders also went on to achieve a clinically meaningful BMI reduction of ≥5% at week 56; in clinical practice, these individuals would have stopped treatment,” researchers wrote. “Given this apparent low probability of going on to achieve a clinically meaningful BMI reduction by week 56, our data suggest it might be more appropriate to consider other treatment options for early nonresponders.”

Reference:
Bensignor MO, Bramante CT, Bomberg EM, et al. Evaluating potential predictors of weight loss response to liraglutide in adolescents with obesity: a post hoc analysis of the randomized, placebo-controlled SCALE Teens trial. Pediatr Obes. Published online June 1, 2023. doi:10.1111/ijpo.13061