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Physician, Large Cap C-suite #MedTech / #Digital Health executive and Corporate Board Member, with two decades of proven medical, scientific, public policy and business leadership. #sleep #science #technology #medicine
As a healthcare practitioner, researcher and someone who has spent much of my career focused on sleep health and conditions like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) – a condition where obesity is an important risk factor – I am deeply interested in the use of GLP-1 medications for weight loss and the potential benefits that weight loss can have on sleep conditions. It’s especially top of mind for me as I make my way to the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) Scientific Sessions later this week, where the full results from the SURMOUNT-OSA trial will be released. Without question, the most effective treatment for OSA has been and remains positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy, which has been proven to reduce the severity of sleep apnea by an average of 86% [1]. With that context, it’s important to note that the SURMOUNT-OSA trial was not designed to directly compare the effectiveness of the dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist tirzepatide to PAP therapy. Instead, it was designed to determine if use of tirzepatide for weight loss could reduce the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) when compared with a placebo. By including patients using PAP therapy, the gold standard in OSA treatment, the trial provided information on combination use from a safety perspective [2]. It’s important to remember that weight loss alone may not be sufficient to eliminate OSA. Obesity is not the only risk factor for OSA, and we’ve seen that in >35% of cases where patients lose up to 50% of their body weight via interventions like bariatric surgery, clinically relevant sleep apnea remained present [3]. While we welcome any new advancements that get individuals more engaged in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, it’s important to continue to expand what we know about sleep health and how best to treat conditions like OSA. As clinicians, it’s incumbent upon us to help patients know and understand their risks for conditions like OSA, which can lower quality of life, increase the risk of many serious health conditions, and may even lead to death [4]. We must take this opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of sleep health and ensure that people at risk for sleep health challenges get screened, diagnosed and treated with the treatments that have the highest likelihood of reducing their risk of health complications. I’m looking forward to learning about the science that will be presented and the conversations I’ll have with colleagues at ADA's annual conference. There is so much more for us to talk about now that sleep health is getting more attention. There are 1 billion people with sleep apnea, and more than 80% are undiagnosed and untreated [5]. All of them deserve the chance to live their best, healthiest lives. *sources below in the comments*
Bob Stanton
3mo
I think it's important to review the existing literature on weight loss and osa. Just from memory..one study showed only 50% of patients with 35 lb or more weight loss when retested showed ahi below 5 not requiring treatment. Imho..big point is weight loss alone does not guarantee no osa. Need to have retesting prior to stopping treatment.
Great insights, Carlos Nunez, obesity has indeed to be part of our practice as sleep specialists. Thank you for sharing the articles
Physician, Large Cap C-suite #MedTech / #Digital Health executive and Corporate Board Member, with two decades of proven medical, scientific, public policy and business leadership. #sleep #science #technology #medicine
3mo*Sources* [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30736888/ [2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1551714424000995?via=ihub [3] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11325-023-02840-1 [4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28130044 [5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8848533; https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanres/article/PIIS2213-2600(19)30198-5/abstract