Top GLP-1 prescription indications include sleep apnea, depression and kidney disease, study finds
More than half of all patients taking GLP-1s such as semaglutide are using them to treat a diagnosed medical condition, signaling that the demand for the popular weight loss drugs may not be purely for vanity, a new study using payer claims data reveals.
In its report, healthcare market research firm Trilliant Health was able to show that, while popular GLP-1 substances such as Ozempic, Zepbound and Wegovy may have been originally approved to manage blood sugar, their medical use has expanded significantly since the latter was given FDA approval for chronic weight management in 2021, spurring the modern trend.
According to the data analyzed by Trilliant, the number of patients prescribed this class of pharmaceuticals has risen nearly 636% between 2018 and 2024, when the data cuts off. Notably, the first GLP-1 approved to be prescribed for weight management was Saxenda, given the greenlight in 2014 for adults.
It wasn’t until 7 years later though that prescription numbers would really see a spike. In fact, from 2014-2018, the number of patients prescribed GLP-1s was minimal. After that, it began to rise slowly-but-steadily, before taking off in 2021.
While many of the “ten emerging indications” Trilliant looked at for its report are directly improved by a reduction of excess body fat, not all of them are. Further, it still indicates the drugs are being used to treat conditions that will improve overall health, benefitting health insurers and patients alike in the long run.
“Ten emerging indication categories were evaluated based on the presence of at least one relevant ICD-10-CM diagnosis code at any point during the study period: Polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, obstructive sleep apnea, Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease or nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; chronic kidney disease, heart failure, alcohol use disorder, substance use disorder, major depressive disorder; binge eating disorder or other eating disorders; and Alzheimer's disease or dementia,” Trilliant wrote.
“Patient volume over time, along with the share of the GLP-1 patient cohort with at least one of these conditions, was analyzed.”
All of these conditions are associated with varying degrees of GLP-1 benefits, from FDA approval to emerging evidence. But, all are backed by some clinical research showing the conditions can be treated by the drugs, Trilliant confirmed.
From sleep apnea to depression
The most common indication for why patients were prescribed GLP-1s was obstructive sleep apnea, potentially directly related to obesity, coming in at 25.5% of scripts. The second highest medical condition was major depressive disorder, coming in at 18.2%.
After that, chronic kidney disease was the most common reason for prescriptions at 10.6%, followed by fatty liver disease.
Trilliant noted that conditions related to overeating specifically—binge eating—were the least common reason for patients to be given the drugs, coming in at only 0.5%.
The firm added that, when considering that many patients were also prescribed GLP-1s for more than one medically valid condition, demand for the drugs will only grow, and payer plans should be prepared for the continued spike.
“As the FDA-approved indication list expands, the share of GLP-1 patients with a clinically defensible basis for drug coverage will grow,” Trilliant’s report reads. “If the majority of adults in a risk pool are prescribed GLP-1 therapy—across a combination of approved, off-label and investigational indications—at list prices that have remained high despite incremental reductions, the aggregate cost exposure will become difficult to manage through traditional utilization controls.”
The full report is available by clicking here.
Chad is an award-winning writer and editor with over 15 years of experience working in media. He has a decade-long professional background in healthcare, working as a writer and in public relations.