ESPE Abstracts

Background: The prevalence of childhood obesity is increasing worldwide and Glucagon-like peptide 1 analogs have emerged as a new tool for its management. To date, Liraglutide has been approved for the treatment of obesity in adolescents over 12 years of age by the FDA & EMEA and in Chile (July 2021).

Objectives: evaluate the % decrease in BMI SDS and total body fat percentage in adolescents with obesity who received Liraglutide associated to a multidisciplinary program (nurse, psychologist, dietitian and physical trainer). The secondary objectives were to determine the presence of associated events, assess adherence to treatment and improvement of biochemical alterations.

Methods: Ten obese patients, mean and ranges: 15 years (13.2-17.3), Weight 97.5 Kg (72.9-120.8), BMI (SDS) 3.2 (2.3-3.9) and 38.3 total body fat percentage % (28.6-44.4) were recruited. Prior to treatment 5/10 had hypertriglyceridemia, 6/10 had HDL below normal range, 2/10 had dysglycemia (1 with glucose intolerance and 1 with HbA1c 5.8%) and 6/8 had hepatic steatosis. They started treatment in June 2021 and are ongoing with increasing doses starting at 0.6 mg/d.

Results: Changes in weight, BMI and body fat percentage are shown in table 1. Adverse events, abdominal pain (7/10), headache (7/10), nausea (6/10), abdominal distension (5/10), diarrhoea (3/10), constipation (2/10), dizziness (2/10), fatigue (2/10) and inflammation at the puncture site (1/10) were observed. None presented episodes of hypoglycemia or acute pancreatitis. Two patients had to temporarily suspend the drug due to intercurrent gastrointestinal infections but reassumed without inconvenience. When assessing compliance, one patient discontinued treatment after 2 months due to irregular administration and one after 3 months due to severe mood disorder. Finally, in the group who complete 6 months of treatment, the two patients with dysglycemia showed improvement and of the three patients with dyslipidemia, two decreased triglyceride levels to normal range.

Conclusions: Short term Liraglutide use associated with a multidisciplinary team showed positive results with a decrease in weight, BMI and body fat percentage and a mild improvement in some biochemical alterations. In addition, appears as a safe treatment for obesity in adolescents. The chronic nature of this condition makes us to be cautious of the long-term effectiveness of this drug.