HMN 2025: How Few adolescents with weight problems are prescribed weight problems medicines

Despite a rise within the prevalence of prescribing, solely 0.5% of U.S. adolescents with weight problems have been prescribed an weight problems treatment in 2023, in response to analysis published within the June 5 difficulty of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Using ambulatory digital medical report knowledge, Lyudmyla Kompaniyets, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues examined tendencies within the proportion of U.S. adolescents aged 12 to 17 years with weight problems who have been prescribed U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved weight problems medicines throughout 2018 to 2023.

The researchers noticed a considerable improve within the proportion of U.S. adolescents who have been prescribed weight problems treatment in 2023 (by about 300% in contrast with 2020), the 12 months after enlargement of FDA approval of two weight problems medicines to incorporate adolescents.

In 2023, 0.5% of adolescents with weight problems have been prescribed an weight problems treatment, with 83% of prescriptions being acquired by adolescents with extreme weight problems. The mostly prescribed medicines have been semaglutide, adopted by phentermine or phentermine-topiramate.

Higher prevalence of prescribing was seen amongst women than boys (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR], 2.05), adolescents aged 15 to 17 versus 12 to 14 years (aPR, 2.24), and amongst these with class 2 or 3 versus class 1 weight problems (aPRs, 4.03 and 12.78, respectively). Lower prescribing prevalence was seen for Black or African American adolescents versus white adolescents (aPR, 0.61).

“The findings on this report point out that well being care suppliers tended to prescribe weight problems medicines to adolescents with extreme weight problems,” the authors write.