Prescribed on cardiovascular grounds rather than for weight, and almost everything written for patients assumes the opposite.
Relative versus absolute is the distinction that gets lost: a 20% relative reduction on a high baseline risk is a large absolute benefit, and the same relative figure on a low baseline risk is a small one.
The question I want answered is how much of the SELECT benefit is plausibly independent of the weight loss, and whether that distinction changes anything practical.
I would rather have one careful answer than five confident ones.
JessicaH_TX said:Prescribed on cardiovascular grounds rather than for weight, and almost everything written for patients assumes the opposite.
SUSTAIN-6 was the first CVOT to show cardiovascular benefit with semaglutide, relevant to cardiovascular risk. In 3,297 T2DM patients with high CV risk: MACE HR 0.74 (95% CI 0.58-0.95, p=0.02)[1].
Notable: the retinopathy signal in SUSTAIN-6 (HR 1.76) was subsequently attributed to rapid A1C reduction in patients with pre-existing retinopathy — not a direct drug effect. This has been confirmed in longer-term follow-up studies.
[1] Marso SP, et al. N Engl J Med. 2016;375(19):1834-1844.
Dr.SleepRoch said:SUSTAIN-6 was the first CVOT to show cardiovascular benefit with semaglutide, relevant to cardiovascular risk.
Dr.SleepRoch said:...we don't know the long-term effects of cardiovascular risk...
This is a fair point, and I think intellectual honesty requires acknowledging it. GLP-1 agonists in their current form have ~8-10 years of human exposure data. That's not nothing, but it's not 30+ years either.
However: the risk-benefit calculation should also consider the KNOWN long-term effects of untreated obesity — diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, joint destruction, reduced lifespan by 5-10 years.
Uncertainty about GLP-1 long-term safety vs certainty about obesity consequences. The calculus seems clear to me, but reasonable people can disagree.
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Browse GL BiochemJessicaH_TX said:Prescribed on cardiovascular grounds rather than for weight, and almost everything written for patients assumes the opposite.
Adding a me-too, because a thread of one person's experience is not much use. The detail I would add is minor and it is already implied above.
Adding the clinical framing, because it changes how the question reads.
Senior perspective on cardiovascular risk: I'm 62 years old and started this journey skeptically. My cardiologist recommended it after years of failed interventions.
14 months later: down 55 lbs, more mobile, pain reduced, medications simplified. My quality of life has improved dramatically. I wish this existed 20 years ago.
To other older adults hesitating: the SELECT trial proved benefit in our age group. You deserve to feel good in your body regardless of age.