Liraglutide Effect on Weight, Glycated Hemoglobin, and Blood Pressure: A Single-Center Experience in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Background Liraglutide has pleiotropic effects beneficial to patients with cardiovascular and renal risks. These effects have been linked to weight and blood pressure reduction in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients. However, whether this reduction is similar in all patients regardless of their ethnicity, baseline demographic, or clinical characteristics is unknown. This study aimed to identify the efficacy of liraglutide on weight, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), and blood pressure in Saudi patients with T2D who attended King Fahad Hospital of the University and received liraglutide as add-on therapy to other antihyperglycemic agents. The study also aimed to describe the pattern of change in these clinical parameters before and after the treatment and assess whether sex differences affect liraglutide's efficacy. Methods We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study reviewing medical records of 220 Saudi patients with T2D treated at King Fahad Hospital of the University (KFHU), in Al-Khobar city in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, from December 2016 to November 2021. Patient cases were included if the patient was Saudi, aged 18 or older, and received liraglutide in a dose of at least 0.6 mg/day for at least three months in combination with other antihyperglycemic agents/diabetes medications. We recorded the effect on patient HbA1c, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), body mass index (BMI), and body weight at baseline, during, and after treatment. We used the paired t-test and repeated measure analysis of variance to compare the mean study parameters before and after treatment. Furthermore, an independent t-test was used to compare the mean study parameters among men and women. Results Treatment with liraglutide from 0.6 mg/day to 3 mg/day for three to 18 months had optimal results across the outcomes measured in our cohort study. There was a significant reduction in weight from baseline to 18 months from a mean weight of 97.9±20 kg to 96.51±18.45 kg with (p<0.001). Mean HbA1c at baseline was 9.34%±1.95%, dropped to 7.67%±1.11% (p<0.001) at 18 months. Moreover, mean SBP also significantly decreased from 126.61±10.4 mmHg to 122.48±7.29 mmHg by the last follow-up (p<0.001). Mean DBP was 76.54±8.37 mmHg at baseline and decreased to 74.29±6.22 mmHg at last follow-up (p<0.001). Men treated with liraglutide had greater reductions in weight than women throughout the study (p<0.05), and while men had greater reductions in SBP and DBP than women early in treatment (p<0.05), by the end of treatment, there were no significant differences in blood pressure between men and women. Likewise, we saw no significant difference between HbA1c reductions in men and women treated with liraglutide. Conclusion Liraglutide effectively reduces HbA1c, weight, BMI, SBP, and DBP in T2D patients. These study results reflect real-world liraglutide clinical practices from KFHU and can be beneficial for physicians when considering using liraglutide as add-on therapy in this population.