Research

Hormonal

Tirzepatide treatment in individuals with obesity and prediabetes attenuates the decline in creatinine-cystatin C-based estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and reduces urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) compared to placebo over 176 weeks.

If you have obesity and prediabetes, treatment with tirzepatide (a once-weekly injectable medication) has been shown to help protect your kidney function over a 3-year period compared to placebo. This protection is seen as a slower decline in kidney filtration rates and a reduction in albumin in the urine, even if your kidney function is currently normal. This suggests that early intervention with this medication may offer long-term organ protection beyond just weight loss.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
participants who were randomly assigned to tirzepatide experienced attenuated eGFR decline compared to those assigned to placebo during the 176-weeks follow-up. The preservation of eGFR was paralleled by a reduction in UACR.
Hiddo J. L. Heerspink et al. · Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism · 2026

Why this rating

Based on a randomized controlled trial (SURMOUNT-1) with a long follow-up (176 weeks) and robust statistical methods (MMRM), though the analysis is post-hoc and the population has preserved kidney function.

Source

Association of Tirzepatide With Kidney Parameters in Participants With Obesity and Prediabetes From <scp>SURMOUNT</scp> ‐1 Over 176 Weeks

Hiddo J. L. Heerspink et al. · Diabetes Obesity and Metabolism · 2026

DOI 10.1111/dom.70622

rct · n=1032
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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