Adherence to liraglutide among individuals with overweight and obesity: Patient characteristics and clinical measures

Aim: To identify the sociodemographic, clinical and laboratory determinants relating to patient adherence to liraglutide treatment among individuals with overweight or obesity. Methods: We retrospectively analysed patients with overweight or obesity who were treated with liraglutide between 2019 and 2022. Over a 6-month follow-up period, measurements of body mass index, sociodemographic characteristics, clinical and laboratory data, and prescription records for liraglutide were collected. Treatment adherence was assessed using the proportion of days covered (PDC) measure, with a PDC ≥80% indicating high adherence. Results: The study population included 1890 participants (78.1% female, mean age 46 ± 12 years). At the end of the follow-up period, 84.9% of the participants exhibited low adherence to liraglutide treatment. Adherence to treatment improved with age (p = 0.04, odds ratio [OR] 1.013, confidence interval [CI] 1.001–1.025). Significant weight loss during treatment increased the likelihood of high adherence (p < 0.001, OR 1.251, CI 1.167–1.341). Individuals with a higher socioeconomic status displayed greater adherence (p = 0.023, OR 1.906, CI 1.091–3.328). Greater adherence was also seen in non-smokers (p = 0.047, OR 0.725, CI 0.528–0.996). Conclusions: Only 15.1% of study participants exhibited high adherence to treatment (PDC ≥80%) after 6 months of follow-up. Further research is needed to explore approaches to enhance adherence to liraglutide, including strategies to educate and support patients in their efforts to achieve and maintain weight loss with the use of this drug.