Research
Hormonal
All GLP-1 analogs and agonists are associated with a higher risk of discontinuation due to adverse events compared to placebo, with taspoglutide and high-dose liraglutide having the highest risk.
Be prepared for a higher likelihood of side effects, particularly nausea and vomiting, when starting any GLP-1 medication. This may lead to discontinuation, especially with taspoglutide and high-dose liraglutide. Discuss side effect management strategies with your provider.
WeakSupportsHIGH confidence
All GLP-1 agonists or analogs were associated with higher odds of discontinuation of treatment due to adverse effects during the conduct of the RCTs compared to placebo, with the highest odds ratios for taspoglutide and liraglutide >1.8mg.
Why this rating
Based on 64 RCTs and 27,018 patients.
Source
Association of glucagon-like peptide 1 analogs and agonists administered for obesity with weight loss and adverse events: a systematic review and network meta-analysis
Kia Vosoughi et al. · EClinicalMedicine · 2021
DOI 10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101213
Meta-analysis · 64 studiesCited 92×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Semaglutide oral is effective for weight loss compared to placebo, but is less effective than subcutaneous semaglutide formulations.Limited
- Semaglutide subcutaneous (SQ) at 2.4 mg produces the greatest weight loss among GLP-1 analogs, significantly outperforming other agents including lower-dose semaglutide and liraglutide.Weak
Related findings · Hormonal
- Initial treatment for type 2 diabetes should be a combination of metformin and either an SGLT-2 inhibitor or a GLP-1 receptor agonist to achieve cardiorenal protection, rather than monotherapy or older agents like sulfonylureas.Strong
- For patients with specific monogenic obesity syndromes (leptin deficiency, POMC/PCSK1/LEPR mutations), targeted pharmacotherapy (recombinant leptin or setmelanotide) is highly effective and should be prioritized, unlike in polygenic obesity.Strong
- Continued weekly administration of 2.4 mg subcutaneous semaglutide prevents weight regain and promotes further weight loss in adults with overweight or obesity, whereas switching to placebo results in significant weight regain.Strong
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