Weight loss drugs don’t increase the risk of pancreatitis or adverse cardiac events in patients with high triglycerides

(Press-News.org) In a major new study, researchers from Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City have found that weight loss drugs used by patients who have high triglycerides do not increase their risk of pancreatitis or adverse cardiac events.

Since the first GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP1RAs), more commonly known now as weight loss drugs, were approved in 2005, some clinicians have been hesitant to prescribe them to people who have very high triglycerides. That’s because these patients are typically at high risk of pancreatitis, and the drugs interact with the pancreas. 

In the new study, Intermountain researchers found that GLP1RAs don’t increase the risk of pancreatitis in these patients – and for those who have never had pancreatitis, being on a GLP1RA medication led to a four times lower risk of developing the condition.

“Pancreatitis is incredibly painful and can be deadly. Once you have a patient with acute pancreatitis you want no part of causing it again,” said Leslie Iverson, PA-C, cardiovascular prevention and research clinician at Intermountain Health. “But these findings show no link between pancreatitis and patients with high triglycerides taking a weight loss drug. Even better, we found that these drugs may offer protection against ever having it in the first place.”

Study findings were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2025 in New Orleans on Nov. 9.

In the retrospective study, Intermountain researchers reviewed the electronic health records of patients treated at Intermountain Health between January 2006 and April 2025 and identified patients over 18 years old with Type 2 diabetes and/or a body mass index over 27. 

One of the key factors researchers included in their analysis was whether a patient had severe hypertriglyceridemia (HTG), with a triglyceride level over 500.

Severe HTG is a known risk factor for pancreatitis, which is why physicians may be less likely to prescribe GLP1RA medications to patients with the condition.

Of the 346,667 patients reviewed in the study, 3,834 (1.1%) were prescribed a GLP1RA medication.  Overall, researchers found no increased risk of pancreatitis in patients prescribed a GLP1RA medication.

They also found no increased risk of pancreatitis in patients with HTG, including those with a triglyceride level over 500.

For those patients with HTG who never had pancreatitis before, they had a four-time lower risk of developing the condition, compared to patients not on a GLP1RA medication. 

“Our findings show that HTG is not a reason to withhold this class of medication from appropriate patients, if they would benefit otherwise,” she said. “This is an important finding that helps enhance out treatment options.”

Iverson added that clinicians are also seeing triglyceride levels in patients go down because of being on GLP1RA medications. This makes sense, she said, as GLP1RAs address issues like diabetes and obesity that can raise triglyceride levels. 

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