Advances in therapyJul 23, 2025

New Treatments for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Including Incretin-Based Therapies

GLP-1 Therapies Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Updated Apr 1, 2026

Abstract

The recent approval of tirzepatide for obesity-related (OSA) represents a significant milestone in treatment options.

Obstructive sleep apnea is characterized by repetitive airway collapse during sleep, leading to low oxygen levels and disrupted sleep.
OSA is highly prevalent and is closely linked to obesity and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Traditional therapies, such as positive airway pressure devices, are effective but often poorly tolerated and have limited long-term cardiovascular benefits.
Emerging therapies are being developed to target specific physiological traits affecting OSA, including arousal threshold and muscle responsiveness.
Tirzepatide offers dual benefits by promoting weight loss and improving the severity and symptoms of OSA.

Simplified

(OSA) is a common sleep-related breathing disorder characterized by repetitive collapse of the upper airway during sleep, resulting in intermittent hypoxemia and sleep fragmentation. OSA is a highly prevalent condition, strongly associated with obesity and linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. While traditional therapies such as positive airway pressure (PAP) devices are effective in treating OSA and alleviating daytime symptoms, they are often not well tolerated and have limited impact on long-term cardiovascular outcomes. As our understanding of the heterogenous factors driving OSA advances, novel therapies targeting specific physiological traits-such as arousal threshold, ventilatory instability, and upper airway muscle responsiveness-are being actively explored, with a promise to expand our therapeutic arsenal. Notably, the recent approval of tirzepatide for the treatment of obesity-related OSA marks a significant milestone in this evolving therapeutic landscape. This -based drug, previously approved for diabetes and obesity management, offers dual benefits, promoting weight loss and improving OSA severity and symptoms. Given this therapeutic evolution in the OSA landscape over the last decade, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the current and emerging treatment strategies for personalized OSA management, with a particular emphasis on the growing role and promise of incretin-based therapies.

Key numbers

20–24 events/hour

Average AHI Reduction with Tirzepatide

Observed in patients with moderate-to-severe at 52 weeks.

15%

Average Weight Loss with Semaglutide

Compared to an average of 2.4% weight loss with placebo.

12 events/hour

Average AHI Decrease with Liraglutide

Significant decrease after 32 weeks in patients with and obesity.

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Funding

Competing interests

Declarations. Conflict of Interest: Bolong Xu has no conflicts of interest to declare. Kaveh Gaynor-Sodeifi has no conflicts of interest to declare. Vaishnavi Kundel has served on a one-time advisory panel for Apnimed, and is on the steering committee for a clinical trial by Eli Lilly. Ethical Approval: This article is based on previously conducted studies and does not contain any new studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

PubMed

New Treatments for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Including Incretin-Based Therapies

Abstract

Key numbers

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Competing interests

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Abstract

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Funding

Competing interests

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

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