Nearly half of Danish adults who started semaglutide for obesity discontinued treatment within 12 months.A quarter restarted therapy within 3 months, possibly indicating frequent temporary treatment interruptions or self-adjusted dosing.Financial barriers and side effects may have driven discontinuation, emphasizing the need for tailored, long-term support.
Nearly half of adults who started semaglutide (Wegovy) for obesity management stopped treatment within a year, a Danish cohort study showed.
Among 157,822 first-time semaglutide initiators without diabetes, 49% discontinued treatment by 12 months, defined as a prescription gap of 60 or more days. Discontinuation steadily increased from 13% by 3 months, to 27% by 6 months, and 39% by 9 months.
However, one in four discontinuers restarted therapy within 3 months, Aurélie Mailhac, MSc, of Aarhus University Hospital in Denmark, and co-authors reported in JAMA Network Open.
"These findings may reflect frequent temporary treatment interruptions or self-adjusted dosing below guideline-recommended levels," they wrote.
