Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41850241›Full record

SynthesisCell reports. Medicine2026

Suboptimal therapeutic responses associated with semaglutide in type 2 diabetes and obesity: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Donghyun Ko, Do Han Kim, Faith Xin Ning Tan, Glenn Jun Kit Ho, Rubhan Chandra, Zhang Zi Xuan, Ethan Tham Kai Jun, Nicole Shu Ying Tang, Hee Seung Yang, Jeffery Wei Heng Koh and 12 more

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Cell reports. Medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

22 authors.

Donghyun KoDepartment of Medicine, Bridgeport Hospital, Yale New Haven Health, Bridgeport, CT, USA. Electronic address: donghyun.ko@bpthosp.org.
Do Han KimDepartment of Medicine, Mount Sinai Morningside and West, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
Faith Xin Ning TanYong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Glenn Jun Kit HoYong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Rubhan ChandraYong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Zhang Zi XuanYong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Ethan Tham Kai JunYong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Nicole Shu Ying TangYong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Hee Seung YangDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
Jeffery Wei Heng KohDepartment of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Pojsakorn DanpanichkulDepartment of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TX, USA.
Mayank DalakotiDepartment of Cardiology, National University Heart Centre, Singapore, Singapore; Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Nicholas L SynYong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Karn WijarnpreechaDepartment of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix, AZ, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Banner University Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ, USA; BIO5 Institute, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
Hirokazu TakahashiLiver Center, Saga University Hospital, Saga, Japan.
Ming-Hua ZhengMAFLD Research Center, Department of Hepatology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China; Wenzhou Key Laboratory of Hepatology, Wenzhou, China; Institute of Hepatology, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment for the Development of Chronic Liver Disease, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Atsushi NakajimaGraduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Japan.
Mazen NoureddinHouston Methodist Hospital and Houston Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA.
Mark MuthiahYong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore; National University Centre for Organ Transplantation, National University Health System, Singapore, Singapore.
Carel W Le RouxUniversity College Dublin, Diabetes Complications Research Centre, Dublin, Ireland.
Mohammad Shadab SiddiquiDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA. Electronic address: mohammad.siddiqui@vcuhealth.org.
Cheng Han NgDivision of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore; Houston Methodist Hospital and Houston Research Institute, Houston, TX, USA; Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. Electronic address: chenghanng@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Semaglutide has emerged as a leading therapy for metabolic disorders, with robust evidence supporting its role in treating obesity and type 2 diabetes while reducing cardiovascular and renal risks. However, limited data exist on the proportion of patients who have suboptimal therapeutic responses or discontinue treatment due to adverse events. We present an analysis including 33 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comprising 21,023 participants. Across included trials of patients with and without type 2 diabetes, 33.4% and 65.1% of participants did not achieve ≥5% or ≥10% total body weight reduction, respectively. Stratified analyses demonstrated higher rates of suboptimal outcomes among individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), with up to 79.8% not achieving ≥10% weight loss, compared to 30.1% among individuals without T2DM. While semaglutide is effective in many patients, a substantial subset of patients has suboptimal weight or glycemic improvements or discontinues therapy. This study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD420251086132).

Indexed as

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2Glucagon-Like PeptidesHypoglycemic AgentsObesityFemaleHumansRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSemaglutideTreatment OutcomeWeight LossGlucagon-Like PeptidesHypoglycemic AgentsSemaglutidelongitudinalrandomized clinical trialsreductionsemaglutide

Identifiers

PMID41850241
PMCPMC13006432

What Socratic holds

Texttitle and abstract
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.