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Associations of Semaglutide With First-Time Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes
TAKE-HOME MESSAGE
- Using an emulated target trial approach, this study investigated the association between semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist used for type 2 diabetes, and a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in patients with diabetes. The study found that patients treated with semaglutide had a significantly lower incidence of AD than those on other antidiabetic medications, suggesting semaglutide's potential neuroprotective effect.
- The findings of this study support further research to explore semaglutide’s role in delaying or preventing AD onset in high-risk populations.
abstract
This abstract is available on the publisher's site.
Access this abstract nowINTRODUCTION
Emerging preclinical evidence suggests that semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity, protects against neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation. However, real-world evidence for its ability to protect against Alzheimer's disease (AD) is lacking.
METHODS
We conducted emulation target trials based on a nationwide database of electronic health records (EHRs) of 116 million US patients. Seven target trials were emulated among 1,094,761 eligible patients with T2DM who had no prior AD diagnosis by comparing semaglutide with seven other antidiabetic medications. First-ever diagnosis of AD occurred within a 3-year follow-up period and was examined using Cox proportional hazards and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses.
RESULTS
Semaglutide was associated with significantly reduced risk for first-time AD diagnosis, most strongly compared with insulin (hazard ratio [HR], 0.33 [95% CI: 0.21 to 0.51]) and most weakly compared with other GLP-1RAs (HR, 0.59 [95% CI: 0.37 to 0.95]). Similar results were seen across obesity status, gender, and age groups.
DISCUSSION
These findings support further studies to assess semaglutide's potential in preventing AD.
HIGHLIGHTS
Semaglutide was associated with 40% to 70% reduced risks of first-time AD diagnosis in T2DM patients compared to other antidiabetic medications, including other GLP-1RAs. Semaglutide was associated with significantly lower AD-related medication prescriptions. Similar reductions were seen across obesity status, gender, and age groups. Our findings provide real-world evidence supporting the potential clinical benefits of semaglutide in mitigating AD initiation and development in patients with T2DM. These findings support further clinical trials to assess semaglutide's potential in delaying or preventing AD.
Additional Info
Disclosure statements are available on the authors' profiles:
Associations of semaglutide with first-time diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in patients with type 2 diabetes: Target trial emulation using nationwide real-world data in the US
Alzheimers Dement 2024 Oct 24;[EPub Ahead of Print], W Wang, Q Wang, X Qi, M Gurney, G Perry, ND Volkow, PB Davis, DC Kaelber, R XuFrom MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.