SynthesisBMJ global health2024
Representation of racialised and ethnically diverse populations in multicentre randomised controlled trials of GLP-1 medicines for obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis of gaps.
Synthesis in BMJ global health, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Tirzepatide vs. semaglutide for obesity, glycemic control, and cardiovascular outcomes: a narrative review of clinical trials.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Incretin Dominance and Emerging Mechanisms in Obesity Pharmacotherapy: Insights from 275 Registered Clinical Trials (2019-2024).Therapeutic innovation & regulatory science · 2026Pooled it
- Survodutide for treatment of obesity: Baseline characteristics of participants in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial (SYNCHRONIZE™-1).Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2026Trial
- Higher-Protein Nutrition and Concurrent Exercise in Obesity: A Narrative Review of Body Composition, Metabolic Health, and Physical Function.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Weight-loss dynamics with tirzepatide versus semaglutide.PNAS nexus · 2026Article
- Anti-obesity medications in children and adolescents: blood pressure and chronic kidney disease implications.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2026Review
- GLP-1 guidelines amid an obesity epidemic: a poor fit for the Global South.Archives of public health = Archives belges de sante publique · 2026Article
- Systematic review of influence of ethnicity on efficacy and safety of pharmacotherapy for childhood and adolescent obesity.Clinical and experimental pediatrics · 2026Article
- Article
- Real-World Comparative Weight Loss of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists in the All of Us Research Program: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Drug design, development and therapy · 2026Article
- Clinical and metabolic profile of adults with obesity attending lifestyle medicine clinics.PloS one · 2026Article
- Decoding the hallmarks of GLP-1RA weight-loss super-responders.Biology methods & protocols · 2026Article
- The Expanding Scope of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists: Six Uses Beyond Diabetes.Current atherosclerosis reports · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionTrials of GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) medicines have changed the paradigm of obesity treatment. Diversity in trial participation is imperative considering that obesity disproportionately impacts marginalised populations worldwide. We performed a systematic review and meta-analyses to evaluate the representation of racialised and ethnically diverse populations in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of GLP-1 medicines for obesity.
methodsWe searched PubMed/Embase/ClinicalTrials.gov. Prevalence of each racial/ethnic group was compared in relation to the USA, Canada, the UK, Brazil and South Africa. The geographical locations of the trial sites were extracted.
results27 RCTs were identified (n=21 547 participants). Meta-analyses of prevalence demonstrated the vast predominance of white/Caucasians (79%) with smaller proportion of blacks (9%), Asians (13%), Indigenous (2%) and Hispanics (22%). The gaps in representation were evidenced by the significantly under-represented proportion of non-white individuals in these RCTs as compared with the prevalence of non-white individuals in the general population of the USA (-23%, p=0.002) and Canada (-34%, p<0.0001), reaching an alarming gap of -58% in relation to Brazil and striking under-representation of -68% as compared with South Africa. Similar discrepancies in proportions of blacks, Asians and Indigenous peoples as compared with reference nations were found. Moreover, the trial sites (n=1859) were predominately located in high-income countries (84.2%), in sharp contrast to the global prevalence of obesity that is predominantly in low-income and middle-income countries.
conclusionThere are discrepancies in representation of racialised and ethnically diverse populations in obesity trials as compared with multiethnic populations worldwide. These data highlight the need for broader reform in the research process in order to ultimately address health inequities.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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 OpenQuestion graph.