Diabetes, high BMI, previous metformin prescriptions are common in teens with prescriptions for GLP-1 RAs

Patients aged 10 to 17 years who are prescribed glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are more likely to have comorbid type 2 diabetes, high body mass index, and a previous metformin prescription, according to a research letter published online Oct. 16 in JAMA Network Open.

Margaret G. Miller, from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and colleagues characterized patient demographics and the prevalence of comorbid conditions among 11,380 matched patients (aged 10 to 17 years) who received or did not receive a first prescription for a GLP-1 RA during visits from 2019 to 2023.

The researchers found that patients prescribed GLP-1 RAs were more commonly female (60.4%; P < 0.001), Black or African American (27.9%; P < 0.001) and Hispanic or Latinx individuals (25.3%; P < 0.001), and less commonly white individuals (46.0%; P < 0.001). Among patients receiving GLP-1 RAs, preexisting International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision encounter diagnosis codes of type 2 diabetes (46.2%), metabolic syndrome (16.0%), and type 1 diabetes (18.6%) were more common than among controls.

Body mass index ≥ 95th percentile was more common among patients receiving a GLP-1 RA than those who did not (87.1 versus 32.9%). Two-thirds of patients receiving a GLP-1 RA prescription had a prior prescription for insulin, metformin, or orlistat.

“A deep understanding of the long-term impacts (i.e., physical, mental, sociocultural, etc.) of GLP-1 RAs on preadolescent and adolescent patients is crucial to better inform prescription practices and is an important direction for future studies,” the authors write.

2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.