Andrew (Drew) Rhoades; Jerry D. McConnell, MD, DABOM, MFOMA , 2025-04-30 14:03:00
April 30, 2025
2 min watch
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — There is a need to identify patients with obstructive sleep apnea after a weight-loss drug was approved for treatment of the disorder in those with obesity, a speaker said.
Late last year, the FDA approved tirzepatide (Zepbound, Eli Lilly) for adults with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea and obesity after the medication showed significantly more efficacy vs. placebo in clinical trials.
Jeremy D. McConnell, MD, DABOM, MFOMA, a physician and founder of Florida Sleep Specialists, told Healio at Obesity Medicine 2025 that the approval “is a significant advancement” but one that “does present some new challenges for our clinicians practicing medicine today.”
“There are over a billion people in the world with obstructive sleep apnea, but only 15% to 20% have been diagnosed,” McConnell said. “The urgent call to action is identification of patients who should be screened for sleep apnea and appropriate testing for those individuals so we can avail them of proper therapy.”
Reference:
- Golden A, McConnell J. Opportunity for shared decision-making: Tirzepatide for OSA with obesity. Presented at: Obesity Medicine 2025. April 23-27, 2025; National Harbor, Md.
For more information:
Jeremy D. McConnell, MD, DABOM, MFOMA, can be reached at primarycare@healio.com.
