What the trial was testing
The SURMOUNT-OSA enrolled 469 patients with obesity. The study was sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was a large trial designed to confirm whether the treatment works well enough for wider use. Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
Tirzepatide reduced sleep apnea events by 20 to 24 per hour compared to placebo.
The New England journal of medicine · 2024 · NCT05412004
These findings — that tirzepatide reduced sleep apnea events by roughly half compared to placebo — were published in the The New England journal of medicine and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 469 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with obesity, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
If you have moderate-to-severe sleep apnea and obesity, this injection could cut your breathing interruptions nearly in half while also helping you lose weight. Tirzepatide is already FDA-approved as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss. Talk to your doctor about whether it might help your sleep apnea — the FDA has not yet specifically approved it for this use, but these results are promising.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open obesity trials
Xanthigen and Its Impact on Weight and Metabolic Health
Randomized, controlled, triple-blind clinical trial with three parallel arms based on the product consumed (low-dose experimental product, high-dose experimental product, and placebo product) and conducted at a single center to measure the efficacy of a product (Xanthigen®) on overweight or obesity during 16 weeks of consumption.
Healthy Mom Zone Gestational Weight Gain Management Intervention 2.0
The goal of this clinical trial is to see if the enhanced HMZ 2.0 intervention with new control system/digital platform to regulate gestational weight gain (GWG) and impact maternal-infant outcomes while collecting implementation data works and can be given to other pregnant women in various settings. The question this study aims to answer are: 1. Does the new intervention manage GWG? 2. Does the new intervention have any influence on sleep and eating behaviors and infant outcomes. 3. Does the new platform and other data collected help inform how well the research and information can be used in health care settings? 144 pregnant women with overweight/obesity will be randomized to either the HMZ 2.0 intervention or attention control groups from \~8-36 weeks gestation. All participants will be asked to: 1. Weight themselves and wear an activity monitor each day over the study. 2. Complete online surveys at either a weekly or monthly level about their thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors on GWG, physical activity, eating behaviors, sleep, their anxiety, depression, and stress. 3. Attend weekly sessions with a registered dietician. The weekly sessions will differ based on intervention group. The HMZ 2.0 intervention group will receive education, create and follow goal-setting and action plans, self-monitor their behaviors, and receive feature evidence and fetal growth facts. Education, goals, and self-monitoring will focus on GWG, physical activity, eating behaviors, sleep, self-regulating behaviors and emotions, and preparing for labor/delivery and postpartum. The attention control group will receive weekly sessions on preparing for labor/delivery and benefits of behavioral pain management strategies (e.g., mindfulness-based relaxation, imagery, music, massage, deep-breathing) to help with pain after childbirth without medicine.