Dermatologic outcomes of patients taking semaglutide: A propensity-matched large cohort study

Summary: Abstract Body: The rise of GLP-1 agonists as a leading treatment for diabetes, obesity, and many comorbidities has led to increased reports of dermatological events; however, a comprehensive analysis of beneficial and adverse outcomes remains absent in the literature. We performed a 5-year retrospective cohort study using the TriNetX Global Health Research Network comparing two patient cohorts: 1) those with Type 2 diabetes treated with semaglutide (n=13,920) and 2) those with Type 2 diabetes not treated with semaglutide (n=13,920). Cohorts excluded patients already diagnosed with the dermatologic outcome or on other GLP-1 agonists. Patients were 1:1 propensity score matched based on age, sex, race, BMI categories, and HgbA1c. Compared to those not treated with semaglutide, patients on semaglutide had a decreased risk of psoriasis (RR=0.450, 95% CI: 0.310,0.652, p<0.0001), atopic dermatitis (RR=0.632, 95% CI: 0.444,0.899, p=0.010), acne (RR=0.577, 95% CI: 0.391,0.850, p=0.005), pruritus (RR=0.613, 95% CI: 0.511,0.737, p<0.0001), xerosis cutis (RR=0.541, 95% CI: 0.413,0.709, p<0.0001), paresthesia (RR=0.591, 95% CI: 0.496,0.706, p<0.0001), keratinocyte carcinoma (RR=0.641, 95% CI: 0.476,0.865, p=0.003), urticaria (RR=0.674, 95% CI: 0.487,0.934, p=0.017), skin infections (RR=0.576, 95% CI: 0.501,0.662, p<0.0001), intertrigo (RR=0.735, 95% CI: 0.552,0.980, p=0.035), cutaneous candidiasis (RR=0.504, 95% CI: 0.359,0.708, p<0.0001), skin ulcers (RR=0.674, 95% CI: 0.536,0.848, p=0.001), and acquired ichthyosis (RR=0.590, 95% CI: 0.467,0.745, p<0.0001). Semaglutide had no statistically significant association with the risk of developing hidradenitis suppurativa, acanthosis nigricans, xanthelasma, vitiligo, granulomatous skin disease, alopecia, angioedema, bullous pemphigoid, skin vasculitis, erythema nodosum, or diabetic dermopathy. These findings suggest that semaglutide may not be associated with adverse events but rather associated with a decreased risk of dermatologic manifestations of diabetes, as well as decreased risk of inflammatory conditions. Amanda H. Gong¹, Jonathan Sayegh¹, Diego Garcia¹, Soha Ghanian¹ 1. The University of Arizona College of Medicine Tucson, Tucson, AZ, United States. Clinical Research: Epidemiology and Observational Research