Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Obesity is a chronic and complex disease which is considered as one of the major health challenges with short- and long-term health consequences. Childhood obesity is defined as having a body mass index (BMI) at or above the 95th percentile for age and gender after two years of age. The glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, liraglutide, is proven to promote weight reduction when used at a higher dose of 3.0 mg once daily. This study aims to explore the effects of liraglutide on the metabolic profile of children and young people (CYP) with obesity.

Methods: Clinical data was collected on 20 CYP treated with liraglutide with MDT input from a tier-3 multidisciplinary weight management service. Auxological measurements and metabolic profile were obtained at baseline and 3-months post-liraglutide treatment (mean dose 2.4 mg once daily).

Results: The mean age was 14.58 years (range: 12.1–16.7) and 60% (12/20) of patients were female. Significant reductions were found in BMI (1.49kg/m2; 95%CI 0.65–2.34; P<0.05), BMI SDS (0.11; 95%CI 0.04–0.17; P<0.05), triglycerides (0.26; 95%CI 0.02–0.50; P<0.05), and cholesterol levels (0.29; 95%CI 0.02–0.56; P<0.05) [Table 1]. A reduction in HbA1c, AST, ALT, LDL was also observed.Table 1 Measurements obtained at baseline and 3-months post Liraglutide treatment

Conclusion: The use of liraglutide in childhood obesity has shown improvements in BMI and metabolic profile. This shows the potential it has on reducing long-term complications and co-morbidities, such as cardiovascular and liver disease.