Contemporary treatment patterns of overweight and obesity: insights from the Mass General Brigham health care system

• Published in: Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) Md.), 2024-12
• Main Authors: Ostrominski, John W, Wagholikar, Kavishwar B, Olsson, Kelly, Unlu, Ozan, Zelle, David, Kumar, Sanjay, Smith, Austen M, Toliver, Joshua C, Michalak, Wojciech, Fabricatore, Anthony, Hartaigh, Bríain Ó, Baer, Heather J, Cannon, Christopher P, Apovian, Caroline M, Fisher, Naomi D L, Plutzky, Jorge, Scirica, Benjamin M, Blood, Alexander J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1930-739X; 1930-739X
• DOI: 10.1002/oby.24186

The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of obesity, obesity-related conditions (ORCs), and antiobesity medication (AOM) eligibility and prescribing practice among eligible patients in a large health care system. In this cross-sectional analysis of the multicenter Mass General Brigham health care system (Boston, Massachusetts) spanning 2018 to 2022, adults eligible for AOMs (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m or BMI 27-29.9 kg/m with ≥1 ORC) were identified. Among those AOM-eligible, the prevalence of prescriptions for AOMs approved for long-term weight management was evaluated. Of 2,469,474 adults (mean [SD], age 53 [19] years; 57% female; BMI 28.1 [6.3] kg/m ), a total of 1,110,251 (45.0%) were eligible for AOMs. Of these, 69.4% (31.2% of overall cohort) had BMI ≥ 30 kg/m . AOM prescription was observed in 15,214 (1.4%) of all eligible patients, with female sex, younger age, higher BMI, commercial insurance, and greater ORC burden associated with higher prevalence of AOM prescriptions. Musculoskeletal disorders (54%) were the most common ORCs, with ≥2 ORCs observed in 62% of patients. Liraglutide 3.0 mg and semaglutide 2.4 mg were the most frequently prescribed AOMs (58% and 34% of all AOMs, respectively). Although nearly one-half of all patients in a large health care system were AOM-eligible by guidelines and regulatory labeling, only 1% of those who were eligible were prescribed AOMs.