FDA Approves Tirzepatide as the First Ever Drug for Sleep Apnea

For patients with obesity and sleep apnea, FDA approved a first yesterday. Tirzepatide became the first ever drug with an FDA-approved indication for treating sleep apnea in persons with obesity. The data for this data appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier this year. Atul Malhotra and colleagues found:

“In two trials, the participants who received tirzepatide had a clinically meaningful change in sleep-disordered breathing and alleviation of perceived sleep disturbance and sleep-related impairment, as well as reductions in common obstructive sleep apnea-related cardiovascular risk factors.”

Once again, FDA and pharmaceutical research are showing the world that treating obesity is all about gaining health. Not just losing weight.

Obesity + Sleep Apnea

In the same way diabetes is a common complication of untreated obesity, so too is sleep apnea. But it does not occur exclusively in people with obesity. In fact, a recent narrative review tells us that 44% of persons with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have obesity. Among all patients with OSA, 73% have overweight or obesity according to their BMI. For persons living with obesity, the prevalence of OSA is 69%, with about 32% having moderate to severe OSA.

So about a third of all people living with obesity would qualify for the tirzepatide indication FDA approved yesterday for moderate or severe sleep apnea in persons with obesity.

Implications for Health Insurance

This milestone adds to the imperative for better coverage of this obesity medicine under health insurance plans. Until now, tirzepatide for obesity has been excluded from coverage for Medicare because of stipulations that the program cannot pay for “weight loss drugs.” But the deputy director for Medicare policy at KFF, Juliette Cubanski, says this new indication will open the door to coverage under the program. The same thing happened when semaglutide gained an indication for preventing complications of heart disease in persons with obesity.

Again, for anyone who is paying attention, it is plain to see that the path of progress leads to dealing with obesity just as we do with any other chronic disease. We should be treating it routinely – not simply for weight loss, but rather for gaining the best health possible for as long as possible.

This new indication for tirzepatide is an important step along the way.

Click here, here, and here for more on this new indication, here and here for relevant publications.

Sleeping Girl, painting by Sonia Delaunay / WikiArt

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December 21, 2024