J Am Coll Cardiol

ESC 2024: Semaglutide use linked to decreased COVID-19 deaths

September 4, 2024

Individuals on semaglutide 2.4 mg had reduced overall mortality rates compared with those given a placebo. This decrease was equally influenced by reductions in both CV-related and non-CV-related deaths. Notably, the decline in non-CV deaths was mainly due to a lower number of deaths from infections. These results were shared at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual meeting in London.

• In this analysis, researchers sought to assess the effect of semaglutide on all-cause death, CV death, and non-CV death, including subcategories of death and death from COVID-19 by using data from the SELECT trial, which randomized 17,604 participants ≥45 years of age with overweight and established CV disease but without diabetes to once-weekly SC semaglutide 2.4 mg or placebo.
• Participants assigned to semaglutide vs. placebo had lower rates of all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.81), CV death (HR: 0.85), and non-CV death (HR: 0.77).
• Sudden cardiac death and undetermined death were the most common causes of CV death with semaglutide vs. placebo (98 vs. 109, HR: 0.89 and 77 vs. 90, HR: 0.85, respectively). Infection was the most common cause of non-CV death and occurred at a lower rate in the semaglutide vs. the placebo group (62 vs. 87; HR: 0.71).
• While semaglutide didn't reduce incident COVID-19, participants treated with semaglutide had fewer COVID-19 related serious adverse events (232 vs. 277; P = 0.04) or died of COVID-19 (43 vs. 65; HR: 0.66).

Source:

Scirica BM, et al. (2024, August 27). J Am Coll Cardiol. The Effect of Semaglutide on Mortality and COVID-19-Related Deaths: An Analysis From the SELECT Trial. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39217559/