Rising prescriptions for obesity management medications reflect growing public interest
The number of prescriptions for obesity management medications (OMDs) has increased significantly in recent years, with a corresponding rise in online search activity, according to a study published on 29 January in JAMA Network Open.
Dr Philipp Berning, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues conducted a repeated cross-sectional study examining prescription patterns and online search trends for OMDs. Their research explored the correlation between the growing use of these medications and public engagement, analysing trends visually and performing quantitative correlation calculations.
The study revealed that a total of 69,213,936 prescriptions for OMDs were dispensed in the United States during the research period. The data showed a steady increase in prescription rates, rising from 0.76 to 0.80 million between July 2017 and June 2018, and from 1.29 to 1.51 million between March 2023 and February 2024. This represents a mean annual growth rate of 5.3 per cent. By February 2024, the total number of OMD prescriptions reached 1.5 million in a single month, accounting for 0.41 per cent of all prescriptions issued during that time.
Among the most commonly prescribed OMDs were phentermine, semaglutide (marketed as Wegovy), liraglutide (Saxenda), and tirzepatide (Zepbound). By February 2024, phentermine had approximately 0.74 million monthly prescriptions, while Wegovy and Zepbound had 0.42 million and 0.25 million monthly prescriptions, respectively.
Online search trends closely mirrored these prescribing patterns. Search volumes for Wegovy, Zepbound, and phentermine in February 2024 were recorded at 636.3, 468.9, and 301.8 searches per 10 million, respectively. The strongest correlation between prescription rates and online search volumes was observed with Wegovy and Zepbound, indicating heightened public interest in these newer treatments.
“These findings may provide insight for health care professionals and policy makers, as they highlight the rapid adoption by clinicians (including nonphysician professions) of state-of-the-art obesity treatments and their growing public interest,” the authors wrote.
One author of the study disclosed financial ties to the biopharmaceutical industry, a factor that should be considered when interpreting the findings.
