Tirzepatide Helps Patients With OSA and Obesity Achieve OSA Remission

Tirzepatide treatment may lead to OSA remission or mild nonsymptomatic OSA in patients with moderate to severe OSA and obesity, regardless of whether those patients use positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy. These findings were  reported at the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) 2025 Annual Meeting, held October 19 to 22, in Chicago.

Investigators compared OSA improvement rates (determined by change in the apnea-hypopnea index [AHI]) among patients with obesity treated with tirzepatide vs placebo. The researchers conducted post-hoc analyses of 2 phase 3 randomized, double-blind studies (SURMOUNT-OSA; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05412004) to assess the efficacy and safety of tirzepatide in adults with moderate to severe OSA and obesity.

Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 to once-weekly tirzepatide or placebo for 52 weeks. For both groups, treatment included increased physical activity and a reduced-calorie diet. Study 1 (n=234) included participants not on PAP therapy and study 2 (n=235) included participants on PAP therapy. A secondary endpoint in SURMOUNT-OSA was the number of patients achieving OSA remission, defined as an AHI of less than 5 or and by the broader criteria of AHI of 5 to 14 with an Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score of 10 or more. Missing AHI data at week-20 and week-52 required multiple imputation.

In both studies, more participants treated with tirzepatide achieved OSA remission or mild nonsymptomatic OSA than those treated with placebo.

In study 1, week 20 results showed that an AHI of less than 5 was achieved by 10.2% of patients receiving tirzepatide vs 6.3% of those treated with placebo, and that remission as defined by the broader SURMOUNT-OSA criteria was achieved by 29.5% of patients receiving tirzepatide vs 12.4% treated with placebo. At week 52, 23.7% of patients receiving tirzepatide vs 5.8% treated with placebo achieved AHI of less than 5, and 43.0% (tirzepatide) and 14.9% (placebo) achieved remission as defined by the broader SURMOUNT-OSA criteria.

In study 2, week 20 results showed than an AHI of less than 5 was attained by 14.2% of the tirzepatide cohort vs 9.1% of the placebo group, and that remission as defined by the broader SURMOUNT-OSA criteria was achieved by 37.3% of the tirzepatide cohort vs 18.8% of the placebo group. At week 52, an AHI of less than 5 was attained by 35.0% of patients receiving tirzepatide vs 6.2% treated with placebo, and remission as defined by the broader SURMOUNT-OSA criteria was achieved by 51.5% of the tirzepatide group vs 13.6% of the placebo group.

“In both studies, more participants treated with tirzepatide achieved OSA remission or mild non-symptomatic OSA than those treated with placebo,” the investigators concluded. “Early improvements were seen in the tirzepatide treatment arm at week-20, and improvement continued to week-52. The placebo treatment arm, however, did not show this continued improvement.”

Disclosure: Some study authors declared affiliations with biotech, pharmaceutical, and/or device companies. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures.

This article originally appeared on Pulmonology Advisor