Tirzepatide, marketed under the name Mounjaro® and popularly known as the ‘King Kong of slimming’, appears to be more effective in women, as a subanalysis of the SURMOUNT clinical trial program presented at the Congress of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) has revealed that women who have received this weekly treatment to combat obesity have managed to reduce up to 24.6% of their weight, while in men the reduction was of 18.1%.
The study looked at average weight loss in men and women through week 72 in the SURMOUNT-1, 2, and 3 trials, and through week 88 in SURMOUNT-4. At the time the study began, women’s weight ranged between 79.6 and 99.8 kg, while men’s weight ranged between 98.6 and 115.2 kg. Regarding body mass index (BMI), women had an average of between 30.1 and 38.2, while men had an average BMI of between 31.4 and 37.6.
The trials not only showed that women experienced greater weight loss, but also indicated that tirzepatide was effective in both genders versus a placebo group. Weight reductions relative to placebo ranged from -11.5% to -27.6% in women and -8.8% to -18.9% in men in the SURMOUNT-2 and SURMOUNT-3 trials. However, women suffered more gastrointestinal side effects, such as nausea and vomiting, compared to men.
Factors that influence the effectiveness of anti-obesity treatment
This analysis highlights how the effectiveness and results of weight loss treatment can vary between men and women due to factors such as physiology, cultural aspects and social environment. Mounjaro is a medication developed by the pharmaceutical company Lilly that combines the action of GIP and GLP-1 receptors, hormones involved in appetite control and weight regulation, and which has shown good results in weight reduction in adults. with obesity or overweight, even in those with related conditions such as type 2 diabetes.
The study involved 4,677 adults, including 1,678 men and 2,999 women, who were randomly assigned to receive doses of 5, 10, or 15 mg of tirzepatide or to a placebo group. The goal of the research was to determine whether treatment effects differed between genders.
Mounjaro has shown good results in reducing weight in adults who are obese or overweight, even in those with related conditions such as type 2 diabetes
In a press release released by Lilly, Dr. Miriam Rubio de Santos, medical director of the Diabetes and Obesity area at Lilly Spain, states that “although more research is needed to understand the mechanism by which women can experience a greater reduction of weight in these trials, this subgroup analysis is very interesting because it allows us to study how the drug acts in a population that is usually underrepresented such as women.”
Tirzepatide is a unique treatment that combines the activation of GIP and GLP-1 receptors, hormones known to influence appetite. This medication has been approved as a treatment for type 2 diabetes and as a tool for weight control in obese or overweight people who have at least one weight-related complication. In addition, its potential is currently being studied to treat obesity-related conditions, such as heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, sleep apnea, and chronic kidney disease, among others.
Source: Lilly
