Arabic version: دراسة تبحث وقف أدوية GLP-1 ومخاطر القلب
According to ABC News, an international study suggests that people with type 2 diabetes who begin and then stop GLP-1 medications may have a higher risk of heart attack, stroke or death than people who continue treatment. Australian experts said the findings require cautious interpretation because the research cannot prove stopping the medicines caused the outcomes.
Published in The Lancet Regional Health — Europe, the study followed more than 80,000 Italians with type 2 diabetes and no established cardiovascular disease between 2004 and 2024. About four in 100 people who stopped GLP-1 treatment had a heart attack, stroke or died from any cause, compared with about two in 100 who remained on the medication. The risk was higher among people with obesity.
Lead author Antonio Ceriello said the association was not a complete surprise, but its strength was significant. GLP-1 medicines can assist with weight regulation and blood sugar by mimicking glucagon-like peptide-1. Participants who stopped treatment had modest increases in weight, blood pressure and blood sugar, but these changes alone did not fully explain the difference in outcomes, he said.
Experts noted major limits in the data. About 60 per cent of the 80,302 participants stopped their medication, but the study did not record why. Clara Chow of the Westmead Applied Research Centre said people may have discontinued because they felt sick, had another illness or faced an interacting medical problem. She said discontinuation could be a marker that patients were already sicker rather than a cause of poorer health.
The study did not include people taking tirzepatide and only a small number used semaglutide; most used liraglutide or dulaglutide. Brendon Neuen of Royal North Shore Hospital said people considering stopping a GLP-1 drug should speak with a health professional. Experts said more long-term research is needed on treatment duration, dose reductions, dosing frequency and the effects of stopping compared with continuing.
