BACKGROUND: Obesity is a chronic, progressive disease affecting over 1 billion adults worldwide, linked to serious comorbidities, including diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease and associated with increased mortality. Achieving clinically meaningful weight loss is critical to reducing cardiometabolic risk. Tirzepatide, semaglutide, cagrilintide and their combination (CagriSema) have demonstrated efficacy in clinical trials; however, no direct head-to-head studies have compared all advanced anti-obesity medications. This network meta-analysis examines their comparative efficacy and safety.
METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane Central for randomized controlled trials comparing these medications with placebo in adults with overweight or obesity. Outcomes included changes in percent body weight, absolute weight, waist circumference, BMI, patients achieving ≥ 5% to ≥ 20% weight loss, HDL-C and safety outcomes (AEs, serious AEs, gastrointestinal AEs and treatment discontinuation). Random-effects model and network meta-analysis methods were employed.
RESULTS: Twenty-five trials involving 12 interventions met the inclusion criteria. Tirzepatide 15 mg resulted in the greatest percent weight reduction (MD -17.97%), followed by CagriSema (MD -17.84%) and semaglutide 7.2 mg (MD -14.66%). At the ≥ 20% weight-loss threshold, CagriSema demonstrated marked superiority (RR 27.82), followed by tirzepatide 15 mg (RR 23.70). Gastrointestinal adverse events increased with all treatments (RR 1.33-1.91), and treatment discontinuation was highest with semaglutide 7.2 mg (RR 3.09). Serious adverse events remained comparable to placebo across all regimens.
CONCLUSION: Tirzepatide 15 mg and CagriSema achieve the greatest weight reduction, including ≥ 20% body weight loss. Gastrointestinal adverse events rise with treatment intensity, while serious adverse events remain comparable to placebo. These findings support dual-pathway and combination incretin therapies as preferred options for patients requiring substantial weight loss. Treatment selection should be individualized based on comorbidity burden, tolerability and weight loss goals, recognizing that ≥ 5% weight loss improves metabolic parameters while ≥ 10% is needed for meaningful comorbidity reduction. Future head-to-head trials are needed.
