Real World Use of Anti-Obesity Medications and Weight Change in Veterans

Anti-obesity medications (AOMs) can be initiated in conjunction with participation in the VA national behavioral weight management program, MOVE!, to help achieve clinically meaningful weight loss.

To compare weight change between Veterans who used AOM + MOVE! versus MOVE! alone and examine AOM use, duration, and characteristics associated with longer duration of use.

Retrospective cohort study using VA electronic health records.

Veterans with overweight or obesity who participated in MOVE! from 2008-2017.

Weight change from baseline was estimated using marginal structural models up to 24 months after MOVE! initiation. The probability of longer duration of AOM use (≥ 180 days) was estimated via a generalized linear mixed model.

Among MOVE! participants, 8,517 (1.6%) used an AOM within 24 months after MOVE! initiation with a median of 90 days of cumulative supply. AOM + MOVE! users achieved greater weight loss than MOVE! alone users at 6 (3.2% vs. 1.6%, p < 0.001), 12 (3.4% vs. 1.4%, p < 0.001), and 24 months (2.7% vs. 1.5%, p < 0.001), and had a greater probability of achieving ≥ 5% weight loss at 6 (38.8% vs. 26.0%, p < 0.001), 12 (43.1% vs. 28.4%, p < 0.001), and 24 months (40.4% vs. 33.3%, p < 0.001). Veterans were more likely to have ≥ 180 days of supply if they were older, exempt from medication copays, used other medications with significant weight-gain, significant weight-loss, or modest weight-loss side effects, or resided in the West North Central or Pacific regions. Veterans were less likely to have ≥ 180 days of AOM supply if they had diabetes or initiated MOVE! later in the study period.

AOM use following MOVE! initiation was uncommon, and exposure was time-limited. AOM + MOVE! was associated with a higher probability of achieving clinically significant weight loss than MOVE! alone.