- Researchers report that medications that promote slow to moderate weight loss may improve survival rates for people with weight issues who also have knee or hip osteoarthritis.
- They added that medications that produce rapid weight loss may actually increase the chances of premature death for people with these conditions.
- Experts note that newer anti-obesity medications work differently than older drugs.
- They add that lifestyle habits such as diet and exercise should always accompany the use of weight loss drugs.
You might be in a hurry to lose weight, but your body may have other ideas.
Rapid weight loss prompted by anti-obesity drugs may increase the chance of premature death among people with weight issues who also have knee or hip osteoarthritis, according to
The study authors suggest people with weight issues and knee and/or hip osteoarthritis have a better chance of living longer by taking anti-obesity medications that promote slow-to-moderate weight loss instead of ones that work more quickly.
The researchers used data from 6,524 participants in the IQVIA Medical Research Database with knee or hip osteoarthritis who were taking weight loss drugs
The research team said the five-year death rate was 5.3% for the “weight gain/stable” group, 4% for the “slow-to-moderate weight loss” group and 5.4% for the “fast weight loss” group.
The study said the risk of death was 28% lower for the “slow-to-moderate weight loss” group compared with the “weight gain/stable” group while only 1% lower for the “fast weight loss” group.
“A slow-to-moderate rate of weight loss induced by anti-obesity medications may lower the risk of death in overweight/obese people with knee/hip osteoarthritis,” said Jie Wei, a doctor of public health at Xiangya Hospital at Central South University in China and a study first author, in a statement.
Dr. Mir Ali, a bariatric…
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