Pharmacological interventions for addressing pediatric and adolescent obesity: A systematic review and network meta-analysis
Abstract
Background Obesity significantly impacts the health outcomes of children and adolescents, necessitating a comprehensive study to evaluate the effects of various anti-obesity medications (AOMs) on weight-related and metabolic outcomes. Methods PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL were searched for studies published up to January 3, 2024. We performed a network meta-analysis on randomized clinical trials that compared various treatments for pediatric and adolescent obesity, such as phentermine/topiramate, semaglutide, exenatide, liraglutide, topiramate, metformin, fluoxetine, metformin/fluoxetine, sibutramine, and orlistat. The study evaluated body mass index (BMI), BMI percentage change, weight, BMI-SDS, waist circumference, metabolic, anthropometric, and safety outcomes. Results The study gathered 2733 studies, including 30 articles that involved 3822 participants. The results of our research showed that PHEN/TPM was better at lowering BMI than exenatide, liraglutide, metformin, fluoxetine, Met/Flu, topiramate, orlistat, and sibutramine, with mean differences (MD) ranging from −10.29 to −1.28. Additionally, semaglutide demonstrated superior efficacy over other AOMs (MD ranged from −8.28 to −1.24). Various levels of certainty, ranging from very low to moderate, supported the findings. Furthermore, semaglutide demonstrated superior efficacy over exenatide (MD-12.43, 95% CI −23.95 to −0.30) regarding percentage change in BMI. Semaglutide also showed enhanced weight reduction…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid. Reported size: 3,822 participants or records.
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