When Israel McKenzie was 17, he struggled with obesity, stopped attending high school in person, and became embarrassed to talk to people while working at a restaurant.
“I was in a really dark place,” said McKenzie, who despite repeated attempts to diet and exercise, had ballooned to 335 pounds on her 6-foot-1 frame. “I had already lost hope.”
But last year, after losing 110 pounds in nine months thanks to the weight-loss drug Wegoby, the rural Tennessee teen used diabetes and obesity drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists. join the rapidly increasing number of young people and young adults who want to new research results.
Monthly drug use among 12- to 25-year-olds is soaring even as millions of seniors turn to drugs like Ozempic and Vigovy. That’s according to a new analysis of dispensing records from nearly 94% of U.S. retail pharmacies from 2020 to 2023.
The report, published Wednesday in the journal JAMA, used the IQVIA prescription database to compile the first nationwide look at GLP-1 drug uptake in that age group. About 31,000 12- to 17-year-olds and more than 162,000 18- to 25-year-olds used the drugs in 2023 alone, according to Dr. Joyce Lee, a University of Michigan pediatrician and diabetes expert who led the study.
“What this suggests is that it’s one of the tools in the toolbox and more health care providers are prescribing this drug to their population,” she says.
The report found that the number of 12- to 25-year-olds using GLP-1 drugs (including older drugs first approved for diabetes in 2005 and for weight loss in 2014) increased by about 8,700 per month in 2020. The number of people increased over 2020. By 2023, that will be 60,000 per month, an increase of nearly 600%. This increase occurred even though prescriptions for other drugs in these patients decreased by about 3%.
Lee pointed out that only a small proportion of young people suffering from obesity were given the drug. 20% of U.S. children and adolescents and Approximately 42% According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one million adults have this chronic disease.
In early 2023, the American Academy of Pediatrics announced that obese children and teens Evaluated early and be treated positivelyThis includes surgery and medication if covered.
McKenzie, a Tennessee teenager, said she started gaining weight during adolescence five years ago.
“I started relying on food for all my problems,” he said.
Doctors said the weight gain worsened his asthma and put him at risk of developing diabetes. He followed his doctor’s advice by cutting out sugary sodas and snacks and trying to increase his physical activity, but to no avail.
“The old doctor said there was nothing that could be done,” he said. “He said it was my fault.”
In early 2023, Dr. McKenzie contacted Dr. Joani Jack, a pediatric obesity specialist at Erlanger Children’s Hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, who regularly prescribes GLP-1 drugs to children.
“I told him I’ve seen 10 other people just like you today, and we have a lot of tools and treatment options,” Jack said. These typically include intensive behavioral and nutritional interventions, combined with pharmacotherapy as appropriate.
In Mackenzie’s case, Jack prescribed the weight loss drug Wegoby, which was approved for use in U.S. children aged 12 and older in late 2022. More than 6,000 children in the same age group will receive Wigoby in 2023, according to new data. More than 7,600 people have received Ozempic. Ozempic is approved to treat diabetes in adults, but can be used off-label in adolescents. Some were given older GLP-1 drugs such as Saxenda and Trulicity.
Mr McKenzie said there were no noticeable side effects from the drug, but Mr Lee said some young people reported nausea, vomiting and constipation, some of which were severe enough to cause them to stop taking the drug. He pointed out that this also includes symptoms.
Lee said it’s important to understand that the use of these drugs among young people is skyrocketing. She said these drugs are meant to be used on an ongoing basis, so “we really need to think about the long-term safety and efficacy of these drugs in this population.”
Also, medicines are expensive; difficult to getIt’s either a supply issue or it’s not covered by insurance.
Notably, government-run Medicaid plans paid for nearly half of the GLP-1 drugs prescribed to 12- to 17-year-olds and about a quarter of the GLP-1 drugs used by people ages 18 to 25, the study found. Commercial insurance covered care for about 44 percent of younger children and about two-thirds of older children.
Now, Mackenzie said her asthma is better and she is looking forward to socializing with colleagues and friends.
“I’m much more confident now than I was before,” he said. “It changed everything.”
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