Bariatric Surgery Demand Declines in the Era of GLP-1 RAs

Medscape December 5, 2024
Edited by Shrabasti Bhattacharya

TOPLINE:

The use of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) for obesity treatment increased more than twofold between the last half of 2022 and the last half of 2023, whereas the rate of metabolic bariatric surgery dropped by around 25% during the same period, suggesting a notable shift in obesity management strategies.

METHODOLOGY:

• The recent surge in the use of GLP-1 RAs for obesity treatment seems to have coincided with the closure of hospital-based metabolic bariatric surgery programs due to decreased demand; however, empirical data on the relationship between these trends are unavailable.
• This cross-sectional study used 2022 and 2023 medical and pharmaceutical claims data from 17 million adults with commercial or Medicare Advantage insurance who had obesity...

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