Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: To examine demographic and clinical patterns for baseline Body Mass Index (BMI) and Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels among diabetic patients initiating Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists in the United States (US).
METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used US Claims data from Forian’s Data Product, CHRONOSTM, a nationally representative, integrated open and closed claims hybrid ecosystem from 2015 to 2024. Adult patients (18 and older) who were diagnosed with diabetes before GLP-1 initiation and had a baseline BMI or HbA1c clinical reading within 30 days before initial treatment were included. Demographic and clinical screening characteristics were summarized descriptively using means, standard deviations (SD), and IQR.
RESULTS: A total of 10,228,304 adult patients (63.1% female) initiated GLP-1s in the study period; 507,150 (4.96%) patients had baseline BMI measures and 141,847 (1.39%) patients had HbA1c measures. The mean age at initial GLP-1 treatment was 54.2 (SD: 13.3) years. 31.8% of patients initiated treatment with a BMI >=40 and 83.6% initiated with a BMI >=30, respectively. Of initiators in the 18-34 age group, 50.4% had a BMI >= 40 whereas only 21.3% of patients who were 65+ had a BMI >= 40. In all age groups (18-34, 35-49, 50-64, 65+), women initiated a GLP-1 at a lower average HbA1c than men (18-34: 6.7/7.7, 35-49: 7.3/8.2, 50-64: 7.7/8.3, 65+:7.9/8.2).
CONCLUSIONS: Baseline BMI and HbA1c patterns in GLP-1 users reveal age- and sex-specific trends in the US. Younger patients initiated GLP-1s at higher BMIs than older ones, while women had lower baseline HbA1c than men. Additional research will assess longitudinal differences in these patients. Understanding these differences may inform personalized treatment strategies and highlight cross-national variations in clinical practices.