Biology methods & protocolsMay 21, 2026

Weight changes after the last prescription of tirzepatide or semaglutide across a health network

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

Updated Jun 28, 2026

Abstract

Essence

In this health-network cohort, many patients had stable weight or kept losing weight for 6 months after their last tirzepatide or semaglutide prescription.

Evidence

This real-world federated health network analysis followed 4,182 patients after their last documented semaglutide or tirzepatide prescription, with note curation in a 300-patient subset identifying 119 documented discontinuations.

Caveat

The last prescription did not necessarily mean treatment stopped, and true discontinuation status was confirmed only in a curated subset.

Simplified

GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) discontinuation has been associated with weight regain. However, weight trajectories following the last documented GLP-1RA prescription in the real-world clinical setting have not been explored. Here, we assessed weight trajectories of 4182 patients in the 6 months following their last semaglutide or tirzepatide prescription. Approximately two-thirds of patients showed stable weight or continued weight loss during this period. In a representative subset of 300 patients whose clinical notes were curated using a large language model, treatment discontinuation was documented for 119 patients (40%) around the time of the last prescription. Among these 119 patients, a similar pattern of weight trajectories was observed, with 72% of patients not demonstrating weight regain. Exercise counseling was documented more frequently among patients with durable weight loss after the last GLP1-RA prescription than among those with weight regain (26.2% vs. 14.7%; = .04). Further studies are warranted to evaluate the mechanisms underlying these real-world patterns. P