Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found stopping GLP-1 medications is linked to a 22% increase in heart attack, stroke and death after two years.
The study, published March 18 in BMJ Medicine, follows more than 333,000 U.S. veterans with Type 2 diabetes for three years. About a one-third of participants were prescribed GLP-1s for their diabetes and the remaining two-thirds were prescribed sulfonylureas. Researchers evaluated the treatment status of GLP-1 users every six months. Over the course of the study, 26% of users stopped and about 23% had an interruption of six months or more before resuming treatment.
Here are five findings:
1. Participants who consistently took GLP-1 medications for the entire three years had the highest risk reductions for heart events at 18%.
2. Those who continued for two to two-and-a-half years also saw a 7% and 15% reduction in heart events, respectively.
3. Those who took GLP-1s for less than 18 months had no significant reduction compared to the group on sulfonylureas.
4. Those who interrupted treatment but resumed GLP-1s had a 12% risk reduction on average.
5. Participants who had an interruption of six months before resuming had a 4% to 8% increase in risk. People with discontinuations of one or two years saw up to a 22% increased risk of cardiovascular events.
“Many quit after a few months because of cost, side effects or shortages. When they stop, it’s not just weight that comes back; they experience a resurgence in inflammation, blood pressure and cholesterol,” senior author Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, a WashU Medicine clinical epidemiologist and chief of the Research and Development Service at the VA St. Louis Health Care System, said in a March 18 system news release. “Our data suggest this metabolic whiplash is detrimental to heart health. Restarting the medication helped restore some protection, but only partially, showing that discontinuation leaves a lasting scar.”
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