A Medical University of Warsaw systematic review published October 8, 2026 in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism found 13 studies, mostly retrospective and 10 in organ transplant recipients, of GLP-1 drugs for high blood sugar caused by glucocorticoid steroids. Most reported lower HbA1c, body weight, and insulin doses with few low-blood-sugar episodes, but no outcome was supported by more than three studies and the certainty of evidence was very low. The authors called for prospective trials; insulin remains the standard treatment.
An updated systematic review by Areesha Moiz, Mark Eisenberg, and colleagues, published online September 1, 2026 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, covered 38 randomized trials in 25,816 adults with overweight or obesity and without diabetes, adding 14 trials to the authors' earlier review. Among marketed drugs, the highest placebo-subtracted weight loss reported was 5.8% for liraglutide, 14.8% for subcutaneous semaglutide, 14.3% for oral semaglutide, 12.4% for orforglipron, and 19.0% for tirzepatide; emerging agents reached 23.9% with amycretin and 22.1% with retatrutide. Gastrointestinal adverse events occurred in 76.0% of patients on GLP-1 drugs versus 40.1% on placebo, and discontinuation for adverse events was 10.7% versus 3.4%. The authors said heterogeneity prevented a pooled quantitative analysis, so these figures are the highest values from individual trials rather than combined estimates.