Abdulrahman Alsuhibani, PharmD, on Anti-Obesity Medications and Adverse Events

While the rate of obesity has significantly increased over the past several decades, so have the number of available treatment options for overweight and obesity. However, the safety of these medications is not well understood, as several anti-obesity medications have been linked to severe adverse events.

To better understand the relationship between anti-obesity medications and adverse outcomes, the authors of a recent retrospective, descriptive analysis utilized the US Food and Drug Administration’s Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Of the 21,229 unique adverse outcomes, 4.9% (n = 1039) of these events were death, 7.6% (1613) were life-threatening, 35% (n = 7426) were hospitalizations, and 5.9% (n = 1249) were disability cases.¹

Lead study author Abdulrahman Alsuhibani, PharmD, who is a doctoral student in the college of pharmacy at the University of Cincinnati, answered our questions about his study.

Consultant360: What was the impetus for your study?

Abdulrahman Alsuhibani: Since I started studying pharmacy, I have always asked myself, “If I had the ability to cure a disease, what would it be?” I thought about different diseases—respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, psychological diseases, liver and kidney disease, cancer, and so on. As I proceeded in my studies, I saw that obesity is a significant risk factor and contributor to the majority of diseases. Consequently, preventing or curing obesity will help prevent a lot of medical conditions and health complications. This is why I'm interested in obesity and why I focused my research on it.

C360: While anti-obesity medications have previously been associated with a high risk of adverse events, your study found that a significant number of adverse events for several anti-obesity medications were cardiovascular-related. Is this a result that you anticipated, or did this surprise you?

AA: We anticipated it since obesity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. However, not at the level of being the 4th most common, and first most serious adverse event linked to the use of the anti-obesity medications.

C360: How do you expect the results of your study to impact clinical practice and the use of anti-obesity medications?

AA: The analysis of the FAERS database revealed numerous serious adverse events associated with anti-obesity medications. These adverse events can lead to serious cardiovascular and kidney complications. Consequently, health care stakeholders should be aware of the adverse events attributed to the use of the anti-obesity medications and their significant impact on patients' health. Also, the proper use of the anti-obesity medications through following pharmacists' and physicians' instructions can help minimize their undesirable effects.

C360: What knowledge gaps remain on the use of anti-obesity medications?

AA: It is necessary to continue and systematically monitor the safety of anti-obesity medications to optimize patient anti-obesity therapy. Besides, all safety data collected in real life should be reported to pharmacovigilance systems.