Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41039116›Full record

SynthesisNature medicine2025

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the efficacy and safety of pharmacological treatments for obesity in adults.

Barbara McGowan, Andreea Ciudin, Jennifer L Baker, Luca Busetto, Dror Dicker, Gema Frühbeck, Gijs H Goossens, Matteo Monami, Paolo Sbraccia, Borja Martinez-Tellez and 2 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readSystematic ReviewNetwork Meta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Nature medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07504172 (Real-world Effectiveness and Dosing Patterns of Tirzepatide), which is not on this map. Cited by 56 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
56citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–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.

NCT07504172 not yet recruitingstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Real-world Effectiveness and Dosing Patterns of Tirzepatide: A Multicentre Retrospective Observational Study in the Netherlands

Ran2026Enrolled1,700Registered outcomes7Posted comparisons0ConditionsObesity (Disorder), Overweight , ObesityArmsTirzepatide
PMID 39536238PMID 35658024other papers from this trial
Open the trial in the graph
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

56 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Guideline
  5. Pooled it
  6. Trial
  7. Trial
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. The Evolution of Medications for Obesity Management.JGH open : an open access journal of gastroenterology and hepatology · 2026
    Review
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Extreme Obesity (BMI ≥ 60 kg/mObesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2026
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Dietary Interventions for Hypertriglyceridemia.Current atherosclerosis reports · 2026
    Review
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

12 authors.

Barbara McGowan *Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Guy's & St. Thomas' Hospital NHS Trust, London, UK. barbaramcgowan@nhs.net.
Andreea Ciudin *Diabetes and Metabolism Research Group, VHIR, Department of Endocrinology, Vall d'Hebron University Hospital, Autonomous University Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. andreea.ciudin@vallhebron.cat.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5622-0203
Jennifer L BakerCenter for Clinical Research and Prevention, Copenhagen University Hospital-Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg, Frederiksberg, Denmark.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9649-6615
Luca BusettoDepartment of Medicine, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4883-8980
Dror DickerInternal Medicine D and Obesity Clinic, Hasharon Hospital-Rabin Medical Center, Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Gema FrühbeckDepartment of Endocrinology & Nutrition, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, CIBEROBN - Instituto de Salud Carlos III, IdiSNA, Pamplona, Spain.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8305-7154
Gijs H GoossensDepartment of Human Biology, Institute of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism (NUTRIM), Maastricht University Medical Center+, Maastricht, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2092-3019
Matteo MonamiDiabetes Unit, Careggi Teaching Hospital and University of Florence, Florence, Italy.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9349-828X
Paolo SbracciaDepartment of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
Borja Martinez-TellezDepartment of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Medicine, CIBIS Research Center, University of Almería, Almería, Spain.
Euan WoodwardEuropean Association for the Study of Obesity, Teddington, Ireland.
Volkan YumukDivision of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diabetes, Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This systematic review and network meta-analysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of obesity management medications (OMMs) in terms of reducing body weight and impact on obesity-related complications. Here a Medline and Embase search was performed up to 31 January 2025 for randomized controlled trials comparing OMMs versus placebo/active comparators in adults. Primary endpoint was percentage of total body weight loss (TBWL%) at the end of the study. Secondary endpoints were TBWL% at 1, 2 and ≥3 years, lipid profile, blood pressure, hemoglobin A1c, fasting plasma glucose, mental health, serious adverse events, quality of life, cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, remission of obesity-related complications and all-cause mortality. Fifty-six clinical trials were identified-orlistat (22), semaglutide (14), liraglutide (11), tirzepatide (6), naltrexone/bupropion (5) and phentermine/topiramate (2)-enrolling 60,307 patients (32,598 OMM and 27,709 placebo). All OMMs showed a significantly greater TBWL% versus placebo (P < 0.0001), more than 10% for semaglutide and tirzepatide. Both tirzepatide and semaglutide showed normoglycemia restoration, remission of type 2 diabetes and reduction in hospitalization due to heart failure. Semaglutide was effective in reducing major adverse cardiovascular events and reducing pain in knee osteoarthritis. Tirzepatide was effective in remission of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis. These results support the need to individualize the selection of OMMs.

Indexed as

Anti-Obesity AgentsObesityAdultGlucagon-Like Peptide 1Glucagon-Like PeptidesHumansLiraglutideQuality of LifeRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSemaglutideTreatment OutcomeWeight LossAnti-Obesity AgentsGlucagon-Like Peptide 1Glucagon-Like PeptidesLiraglutideSemaglutide

Identifiers

PMID41039116
PMCPMC12532627

What OpenQuestion holds

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

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.