2017 to 2022 Saw More Than Doubling in Use of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists

MONDAY, July 20, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- From 2017 to 2022, the use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) more than doubled, according to a study published online July 17 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.Michael M. Hammond, M.D., M.P.H., from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues examined how usage patterns and associated payments may differ across GLP-1 RAs and by diabetes status using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey sample of U.S. adults. Trends were examined from 2017 to 2022 to capture usage and payment immediately before and after expansion of indications for GLP-1 RAs.Overall, 1,878 participants, representing 20,343,000 adults, reported any GLP-1 RA use between 2017 and 2022; 90 percent reported a history of diabetes. GLP-1 RA use increased by 230 and 643 percent among participants with and without diabetes, respectively. There was an increase seen in the proportion of semaglutide users from 2018 to 2022, from 10 to 54 percent and from 8 to 65 percent among those with and without diabetes, respectively. Between 2017 and 2022, the mean annual out-of-pocket payment decreased for participants with and without diabetes (from $414 to $252 and from $212 to $157, respectively). The mean total annual payment increased between 2017 and 2022, from $4,936 to $6,722 and from $2,651 to $6,811 for those with and without diabetes, respectively."The bill ultimately lands on premium payers, taxpayers and, in some cases, on patients who lose coverage or face new hurdles," senior author Xiaoning Huang, Ph.D., also from the Feinberg School of Medicine, said in a statement.Abstract/Full Text.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

2017 to 2022 Saw More Than Doubling in Use of GLP-1 Receptor Agonists

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