Even as older adults are eagerly seeking drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, a new analysis of dispensing records from nearly 94% of U.S. retail pharmacies has revealed a significant increase in the monthly use of these medications among people aged 12 to 25 between 2020 and 2023.
The report, published in the journal JAMA on Wednesday, used the IQVIA prescription database to provide the first national look at the uptake of GLP-1 drugs among this age group.
Dr. Joyce Lee, a University of Michigan pediatrician and diabetes expert who led the research, found that in 2023 alone, nearly 31,000 children aged 12 to 17 and more than 162,000 people aged 18 to 25 used these medications.
“What it’s suggesting is that it’s one of the tools in the toolbox and there are more providers prescribing this medication for the population,” Dr. Lee said.
The report shows that the number of 12- to 25-year-olds using any GLP-1 drug, including older medications first approved for diabetes treatment in 2005 and for weight loss in 2014, increased by nearly 600% from about 8,700 a month in 2020 to more than 60,000 a month in 2023. This rise occurred even as prescriptions for other drugs among these patients fell by about 3%.
However, those who received the drugs represented only a small fraction of the young people struggling with obesity. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 20% of U.S. children and adolescents and about 42% of adults have this condition.
In early 2023, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that children and teens with obesity be evaluated early and treated aggressively, including with surgery and medication if warranted.
Dr. Lee emphasized the importance of understanding the surging use of these medications in young people, as the drugs are intended for long-term use. “We really need to think about the long-term safety and effectiveness of these medications for this population,” she said.
The research also found that government-run Medicaid plans paid for nearly half of the GLP-1 drugs prescribed to 12- to 17-year-olds and about a quarter of those used by people aged 18 to 25.
Commercial insurance covered care for nearly 44% of the younger kids and about two-thirds of those who were older.
Dr. Joani Jack, a pediatric obesity specialist at Children’s Hospital at Erlanger in Chattanooga, Tennessee, regularly prescribes GLP-1 drugs for kids.
“I told him I’ve seen 10 other people just like you today and we have lots of tools and treatment options,” Jack said of one patient. Those typically include intensive behavioral and nutrition interventions combined with medication, if necessary.
In this patient’s case, Jack prescribed the weight-loss drug Wegovy, which in late 2022 was approved for use in U.S. children over age 12. More than 6,000 kids in that age group received Wegovy in 2023, the new data show. More than 7,600 received Ozempic, which is approved to treat diabetes in adults, but can be used off-label in adolescents. Others received older GLP-1 drugs such as Saxenda and Trulicity.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.