Metabolic Health

Higher Recorded Tirzepatide Doses Track With Earlier Treatment Discontinuation

Tirzepatide can treat obesity and type 2 diabetes, but continued use matters for maintaining its benefits. Researchers examined prescription records for 3,030 adults in Poland, where patients largely fund obesity medications themselves. Higher first recorded doses were associated with earlier loss of observed treatment compared with 2.5 mg. Among 385 patients with at least 180 days of observed treatment, prescriptions covered a median of 86% of days, and 68% met the study's adherence threshold. Only 25.8% of eligible patients with lower recorded doses reached at least 10 mg. The findings suggest clinicians should discuss costs, expectations, and tolerability, but these factors were not measured. Prescription records cannot confirm actual medication use, and the first recorded dose may not be the true starting dose. This summary is based on the abstract only.