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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Endocrinol.
Sec. Clinical Diabetes
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1513641

Comparative efficacy of incretin drugs on glycemic control, body weight, and blood pressure in adults with overweight or obesity and with/without type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and network meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Song Liu Song Liu 1*H JQ H JQ 2*Chen Zhao Chen Zhao 3Hang Liu Hang Liu 4Chunyang He Chunyang He 1
  • 1 Chengdu Third People's Hospital, Chengdu, China
  • 2 Guang’an People’s Hospital,, Guang’an, China
  • 3 Nanchong Central Hospital, Nanchong, Sichuan Province, China
  • 4 Affiliated Banan Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The rapid development of multi-receptor drugs targeting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) is driving significant advancements in the treatment of individuals with type 2 diabetes and obesity. This systematic review and network meta-analysis aims to compare the efficacy and safety of multi-receptor drugs in adults with overweight or obesity, with or without type 2 diabetes.: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane, Web of Science, Embase, CNKI, and WanFang databases up to May 12, 2024. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with an intervention duration of at least 12 weeks were included. The population of interest consisted of individuals with overweight or obesity, with or without type 2 diabetes. Eligible studies compared multi-receptor drugs with placeboor other multi-receptor drugs. The primary outcomes were weight reduction, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting plasma glucose (FPG), blood pressure changes, and adverse events. Risk of bias was assessed using the version 2 of the Cochrane risk-ofbias tool (ROB2), and a random-effects network meta-analysis was performed using the frequentist approach. Confidence in effect estimates was evaluated using the Confidence In Network Meta-Analysis (CINeMA) framework.Results: A total of 24 trials, involving 9165 participants, were included. Retatrutide (mean difference (MD): -11.91 kg, 95% CI: -19.00 to -4.82, P-score: 0.80, p: 0.0003) and Tirzepatide (MD: -12.78 kg, 95% CI: -16.10 to -9.46, P-score: 0.89, p < 0.0001) exhibited superior efficacy in reducing body weight, with all other agents except Mazdutide (MD: -5.31 kg, 95% CI: -9.78 to -0.84, P-score: 0.37, p: 0.0189) achieving reductions of over 8 kg. In patients with type 2 diabetes, all agents reduced HbA1c by over 1%, with Tirzepatide (MD: -1.87%, 95% CI: -2.15 to -1.59, P-score: 0.87, p < 0.0001) and Mazdutide (MD: -1.89%, 95% CI: -2.43 to -1.35, P-score: 0.88, p < 0.0001) showing the greatest effects on glycemic control. For blood pressure management, Tirzepatide significantly reduced systolic blood pressure (MD: -6.69 mmHg, 95% CI: -7.62 to -5.75, P-score: 0.84, p < 0.0001) and diastolic blood pressure (MD: -3.73 mmHg, 95% CI: -4.75 to -2.71, P-score: 0.92, p < 0.0001), with nearly all agents lowering systolic blood pressure by more than 5 mmHg.

    Keywords: GLP-1 receptor agonists, Network meta-analysis, multi-receptor drugs, Obesity, type 2 diabetes

    Received: 18 Oct 2024; Accepted: 16 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Liu, JQ, Zhao, Liu and He. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Song Liu, Chengdu Third People's Hospital, Chengdu, China
    H JQ, Guang’an People’s Hospital,, Guang’an, China

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