Key Takeaways

Obesity medications such as Wegovy (semaglutide) and Zepbound (tirzepatide) have been shown to help with conditions beyond weight loss, includingheart diseaseandfatty liver disease. Now, we can add sleep apnea to the myriad of ailments that these drugs seem to continue to have an impact on.

Eli Lilly, the maker of Zepbound,saidits phase 3 clinical trials found that participants taking tirzepatide saw a significant drop in their symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that affects approximately 26% of Americans between the ages of 30 and 70.

The improvement in sleep apnea symptoms is linked to weight loss, according toMir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center.

“Excess weight can deposit in the airways around the throat and things and make it somewhat sloppy. So the tissues kind of fall back and obstruct the airway,” Ali told Verywell. “When a patient loses weight, they lose that extra fat and tissue in their airways, so the obstructive sleep apnea goes away.”

How Sleep Apnea Affects Weight

Ali said many of his patients have sleep apnea, but the condition often remains undiagnosed until confirmed through asleep study.

AlthoughContinuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machinesare considered the “gold standard” for managing sleep apnea, they can be expensive, bulky, and challenging for patients to use in the long run.

The link between GLP-1 medications and sleep apnea is not new. A 2016 clinical trial found that weight loss resulting fromliraglutide—a GLP-1 drug approved to treat obesity in 2022—could improve sleep apnea symptoms in patients.

“Weight loss can help, but some people will continue to have sleep apnea due to other causes, such as oral and airway anatomy,” saidAlex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine.

Surprising Signs and Symptoms of Untreated Sleep Apnea

If GLP-1 drugs prove to be helpful in improving sleep apnea, it might open up more avenues for insurance coverage. Patients who are on these medications often have to pay out-of-pocket because insurance doesn’t cover them.

“Sleep apnea is one of these medical conditions that the insurance companies deem as significant enough that they would approve surgery if they fall under a certain BMI range,” Ali said.

Still, he said people need to keep in mind the limits of GLP-1 drugs when it comes to sleep apnea.

“Not all sleep apnea is from obesity, and thus, losing weight may not be an effective treatment for everyone,” Dimitriu said. “Nasal congestion, palatal, dental, and jaw structure can all play a role, and some of these may not be improved as much as obesity when someone starts losing weight.”

According to Lilly, the company will present its clinical trial results on sleep apnea later this year with the hope of applying for FDA approval shortly after.

Convenient Home Sleep Apnea Testing Costs Less

What This Means For You

3 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Santilli M, Manciocchi E, D’Addazio G, et al.Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a single-center retrospective study.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(19):10277. doi:10.3390/ijerph181910277Rosa D, Amigoni C, Rimoldi E, et al.Obstructive sleep apnea and adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment: let’s talk about partners!.Healthcare (Basel). 2022;10(5):943. doi:10.3390/healthcare10050943Blackman A, Foster GD, Zammit G, et al.Effect of liraglutide 3.0 mg in individuals with obesity and moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnea: the SCALE Sleep Apnea randomized clinical trial.Int J Obes (Lond). 2016;40(8):1310-1319. doi:10.1038/ijo.2016.52

3 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Santilli M, Manciocchi E, D’Addazio G, et al.Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a single-center retrospective study.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(19):10277. doi:10.3390/ijerph181910277Rosa D, Amigoni C, Rimoldi E, et al.Obstructive sleep apnea and adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment: let’s talk about partners!.Healthcare (Basel). 2022;10(5):943. doi:10.3390/healthcare10050943Blackman A, Foster GD, Zammit G, et al.Effect of liraglutide 3.0 mg in individuals with obesity and moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnea: the SCALE Sleep Apnea randomized clinical trial.Int J Obes (Lond). 2016;40(8):1310-1319. doi:10.1038/ijo.2016.52

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Santilli M, Manciocchi E, D’Addazio G, et al.Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a single-center retrospective study.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(19):10277. doi:10.3390/ijerph181910277Rosa D, Amigoni C, Rimoldi E, et al.Obstructive sleep apnea and adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment: let’s talk about partners!.Healthcare (Basel). 2022;10(5):943. doi:10.3390/healthcare10050943Blackman A, Foster GD, Zammit G, et al.Effect of liraglutide 3.0 mg in individuals with obesity and moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnea: the SCALE Sleep Apnea randomized clinical trial.Int J Obes (Lond). 2016;40(8):1310-1319. doi:10.1038/ijo.2016.52

Santilli M, Manciocchi E, D’Addazio G, et al.Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a single-center retrospective study.Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(19):10277. doi:10.3390/ijerph181910277

Rosa D, Amigoni C, Rimoldi E, et al.Obstructive sleep apnea and adherence to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment: let’s talk about partners!.Healthcare (Basel). 2022;10(5):943. doi:10.3390/healthcare10050943

Blackman A, Foster GD, Zammit G, et al.Effect of liraglutide 3.0 mg in individuals with obesity and moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnea: the SCALE Sleep Apnea randomized clinical trial.Int J Obes (Lond). 2016;40(8):1310-1319. doi:10.1038/ijo.2016.52

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