An Estimated 17 Million US Youth Meet Criteria for GLP-1RA Treatment

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

A cross-sectional analysis from Yale School of Medicine estimates that approximately 5.8 million adolescents and 11.1 million young adults in the United States meet eligibility criteria for glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs), drugs approved to treat obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) in some pediatric populations.

Prevalence of obesity and T2D has continued to rise among U.S. youth, presenting an opportunity to treat with GLP-1RAs. Previous studies have examined prescribing trends, though clinical and insurance profiles of those eligible for GLP-1RAs remain poorly described.

In the study, “Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist Eligibility Among US Adolescents and Young Adults,” published in JAMA Pediatrics, researchers pooled data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to identify U.S. youth meeting FDA criteria for GLP-1RA therapy.

Sample data included 572 adolescents aged 12–17 and 590 young adults aged 18–25, representing a weighted estimate of 5.8 million adolescents and 11.1 million young adults.

Eligibility criteria for adolescents included T2D or obesity based on body mass index (BMI) thresholds adjusted for age and sex or corresponding adult BMI thresholds. For young adults, eligibility included T2D, obesity, or a weight-related condition such as dyslipidemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, or T2D.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-million-youth-criteria-glp-1ra.html