- Folks with sort 2 diabetes will be at the next threat for damaged bones after they use weight-loss methods.
- Semaglutide is a drugs that may assist with diabetes administration and weight reduction.
- A current examine discovered that, in comparison with different weight-loss medicines, semaglutide appeared to assist probably the most with weight reduction and was linked to a 15% lower in fractures.
Using weight-loss medicines like semaglutide is turning into increasingly more common.
Latest examine outcomes shared on the Endocrine Society assembly ENDO 2026 point out that semaglutide was linked to greater weight reduction and a 15% lower in damaged bones when it was in comparison with different weight reduction medicines.
These findings — that are but to seem in a peer-reviewed journal — counsel that semaglutide could also be useful for bone well being.
This present examine concerned individuals with sort two diabetes who obtained weight-loss remedy. The examine authors clarify that in individuals with sort 2 diabetes, weight reduction interventions can enhance the chance of bone breakage as a result of individuals expertise accelerated bone loss.
Additionally they word that semaglutide would possibly profit bone well being and thus got down to evaluate it to different weight-loss medicines.
Researchers utilized the Atropos Well being Eos digital well being report dataset. This allowed them to have a look at in depth information from individuals in the US.
Eligible members had been adults who had type 2 diabetes and no earlier fractures. Members had been additionally not on medicines to deal with osteoporosis.
Researchers checked out body mass index (BMI) at baseline, after 1 12 months’s time, and the way BMI modified within the interim.
Baseline traits like age and BMI had been comparable between the 2 teams after researchers carried out matching.
There have been 17,506 members in every group, and 4,191 pairs had accessible info on BMI.
Examine writer Sun H Kim, MD, MS, Affiliate Professor of Drugs within the Division of Endocrinology, Gerontology, and Metabolism at Stanford, summarized the findings to to Medical Information At the moment, saying:
“We discovered that semaglutide in comparison with different weight reduction medicines, together with one other GLP-1 remedy known as dulaglutide, decreased threat of future fractures regardless of being related to better weight reduction.”
Total, semaglutide was linked to an even bigger lower in BMI. The semaglutide group additionally skilled fewer fractures than the management group. The typical follow-up time fractures was over 3 and a half years.
The group on semaglutide solely skilled 794 fractures, whereas the management group skilled 1,045. Researchers concluded that “semaglutide was related to a 15% discount in fracture incidence.”
The complete analysis has not been printed but, so the total limitations are usually not clear right now. Nonetheless, it’s attainable that researchers didn’t account for elements that performed into the noticed outcomes.
Since researchers used digital well being report information, missed info can be a risk. Moreover, the info that they had entry to solely included people seen at educational medical facilities and neighborhood hospitals.
Moreover, researchers didn’t have information on BMI for a lot of members, which additionally limits the findings. And utilizing BMI as a method to measure weight reduction additionally comes with its personal limitations.
This analysis particularly targeted on individuals with sort 2 diabetes, so extra analysis is required in different teams, and the outcomes shouldn’t be generalized.
Burak Altintas, MD, an orthopedist with UTMB, who was not concerned on this examine, additional highlighted the next limitations of the analysis:
“The constraints embody retrospective design and sure residual confounding regardless of matching as fracture threat is influenced by many variables that aren’t reported […] Additional, the comparability group is heterogeneous, combining one other GLP-1 receptor agonist (dulaglutide) with two mechanistically totally different weight-loss medicines. The comparatively small BMI-analysis cohort (4,191 matched pairs) in contrast with the general matched cohort raises considerations relating to lacking information and potential choice bias. As well as, the fractures had been analyzed as a composite end result. Thus, it’s unclear whether or not results differed between hip, vertebral, wrist, or different fractures.”
Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon, bariatric drugs specialist and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Heart at Orange Coast Medical Heart in Fountain Valley, CA, likewise not concerned on this examine, additionally famous that “this analysis exhibits a advantage of semaglutide over different diabetes therapy approaches.“
“Nonetheless,“ Ali cautioned, “it’s troublesome to attribute the development solely to semaglutide based mostly on this examine alone. Extra analysis is critical to look at fracture discount unbiased of weight reduction.”
This analysis can also primarily pave the best way for extra analysis, quite than giving particular solutions. Altintas confused that “The findings ought to be considered as hypothesis-generating quite than practice-changing.“
“The examine means that semaglutide doesn’t seem to extend fracture threat and will doubtlessly scale back it, however randomized potential research with bone mineral density, bone turnover markers, and fracture endpoints will probably be wanted earlier than concluding that semaglutide has true bone-protective properties,” he informed us.
The outcomes point out that semaglutide would possibly assist defend bones. “Our examine means that semaglutide might have bone protecting results regardless of its impact on weight reduction,” defined Kim.
Altintas additionally famous that “if these findings are confirmed by potential research, a number of essential scientific implications emerge.“
“First, clinicians could also be much less involved that semaglutide-induced weight reduction inherently will increase fracture threat in sufferers with sort 2 diabetes. Second, for diabetic sufferers at elevated fracture threat, semaglutide might develop into a most well-liked weight-loss agent in contrast with alternate options which will have much less favorable skeletal results. Third, as GLP-1 receptor agonists develop into more and more utilized, understanding their results on bone well being turns into important, notably in older adults and postmenopausal girls.”
– Burak Altintas, MD
Nonetheless, the outcomes don’t imply that semaglutide is at all times the best choice on the subject of weight reduction. Ali additionally famous that, “if it may be demonstrated that semaglutide improves fracture threat unbiased of weight reduction, it will present one other clear indication for its prescription.“
“Nonetheless,“ he mentioned, “I don’t consider that conclusion will be made based mostly on this particular examine. Whereas quite a few research have proven the advantages of semaglutide, we regularly see comparable outcomes when sufferers obtain a wholesome weight via different means, similar to surgical procedure.“
“Additional analysis into semaglutide and different hormone agonist medicines is required to find out which results are unbiased of weight reduction,” suggested Ali.
It can be crucial for anybody inquisitive about utilizing semaglutide or different weight reduction medicines to speak with their medical doctors about choices and kind an applicable weight reduction plan.
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