Study Shows Weight-Loss Drugs Can Lower Kidney Disease Risks By 20% – Is It True? Doctors Weigh In On The Findings

A study conducted and published in the Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology journal states that weight-loss drugs can reduce the risk of worsening kidney function, kidney failure and dying from kidney disease by a fifth. As published in The Guardian, Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are a family of medications that help people lose weight, manage blood sugar type 2 diabetes patients and also prevent heart attacks in people with heart disease. But is this finding true? We spoke to Prof (Dr) Debabrata Mukherjee, Senior Director - Nephrology & Renal Transplant, Nephrology, Kidney Transplant, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Gurugram to understand the reality behind this finding.

Clinical Research On Drugs

The research was a meta-analysis of 11 large-scale clinical trials of weight loss drugs that involved more than 85,000 people. The groups included people with heart issues, type 2 diabetes, and obese individuals without type 2 diabetes. The drugs include seven different types of GLP-1 receptor agonists, semaglutide, also known as Ozempic or Wegovy, dulaglutide and liraglutide.

Can Weight-Loss Drugs Lower Kidney Disease Risks By 20%?

Prof (Dr.) Debabrata Mukherjee said, “Weight loss drugs are tremendously in the news today, sometimes for the right reasons, and sometimes for the wrong reasons. There are numerous classes of weight loss drugs, but the ones which improve kidney function prevent worsening and prevent renal failure from occurring on a specific group of drugs called GNP-1analogs and SGLT-2 receptor blockers.”

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Dr highlighted that these drugs were not designed for weight loss. They were actually designed for the control of diabetes. But during the trial, it was found that these drugs have a tremendous benefit on kidney function, increasing the life of the kidney, preventing worsening of kidney failure.”

“These drugs do improve the longevity of the kidney. However, they need to be taken under strict medical supervision and on prescription,” added Dr Mukherjee.

It is always advisable to consult a doctor before consuming any drugs or medications, rather than relying solely on researches. 

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