Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (692 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
An analog of gastric inhibitory polypeptide and agonist of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor used to enhance glycemic control of TYPE 2 diabetes mellitus.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: LY3298176; Zepbound; Mounjaro.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
- Broader topics
- Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide
Related concepts
- Gastric Inhibitory Polypeptide
- Glucose-Dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide Receptor
- Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor
- Diabetes Mellitus
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 968 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Tirzepatide” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 966 of them (99.8%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is 2020 onward with 966 records.
Reviews account for 305 records (31.5%) and meta-analyses for 107. Randomized controlled trials number 132 (13.6%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up a comparatively large share of this literature, which means many treatment questions have been tested directly.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 0 |
| 2000-2009 | 0 |
| 2010-2019 | 2 |
| 2020 onward | 966 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 305 | 31.5% |
| Meta-analyses | 107 | 11.1% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 132 | 13.6% |
Method: PubMed query "Tirzepatide"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in drugs and chemicals
Studies of a chemical or drug can answer very different questions: what it is and how it behaves in cells and animals, how the body handles it, and whether it changes outcomes in people. Laboratory and animal findings often do not carry over to patients, and observational studies of exposures are confounded by who uses a substance and why. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to use, avoid, start or stop any substance or medicine; talk to a qualified clinician or pharmacist about your own situation. Check the dose, the species, the comparison group and whether a patient-relevant outcome was measured.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardiovascular outcomes of semaglutide and tirzepatide for patients with type 2 diabetes in clinical practice | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 33 | cc by PMID 41207920 · DOI · PMC12823426 |
| Real-world titration, persistence & weight loss of semaglutide and tirzepatide in an academic obesity clinic | 2025 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 25 | cc by PMID 40762026 · DOI · PMC12515774 |
| Tirzepatide leads to weight reduction in people with obesity due to MC4R deficiency | 2025 | Randomized controlled trial Design not recorded in structured metadata | 15 | cc by PMID 40858971 · DOI · PMC12532586 |
Cardiovascular outcomes of semaglutide and tirzepatide for patients with type 2 diabetes in clinical practice [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Cardiovascular outcome trials of the incretin-based medicines tirzepatide and semaglutide have shown benefits in populations with varying levels of cardiovascular risk.
- Closing excerpt
- gov registration: NCT06659744 , NCT07088718 , NCT07096063 .
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (278 words)
Cardiovascular outcome trials of the incretin-based medicines tirzepatide and semaglutide have shown benefits in populations with varying levels of cardiovascular risk. However, without direct head-to-head comparisons, treatment decisions rely on indirect evidence from heterogeneous trial populations, leaving optimal treatment choices uncertain. Here we conducted five cohort studies to assess the effectiveness of tirzepatide and semaglutide in patients with elevated cardiovascular risk, including obesity and type 2 diabetes, enrolled in insurance programs in the USA between 2018 and 2025. First, we emulated two cardiovascular outcome trials, SUSTAIN-6 (semaglutide versus sitagliptin as placebo proxy) and SURPASS-CVOT (tirzepatide versus dulaglutide), to benchmark and critically evaluate our design, data and analytic framework. Second, we assessed each drug in expanded populations reflective of patients routinely seen in clinical practice. Third, we directly compared tirzepatide versus semaglutide. Baseline confounders were balanced using propensity score matching. For the primary composite endpoint of myocardial infarction, stroke or all-cause mortality, benchmarking identified high agreement between the reference trials and their emulations for all individual endpoints except for all-cause mortality in SUSTAIN-6, informing subsequent analyses. In expanded populations, comparing semaglutide versus sitagliptin for the composite outcome of myocardial infarction or stroke yielded a hazard ratio of 0.82 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.74 to 0.91), and comparing tirzepatide versus dulaglutide for the composite outcome including mortality yielded a hazard ratio of 0.87 (95% CI 0.75 to 1.01). In the head-to-head comparison of tirzepatide versus semaglutide, the hazard ratio was 1.06 (95% CI 0.95 to 1.18). These findings support a comparable cardiovascular benefit of tirzepatide and semaglutide in clinical practice and demonstrate how rigorously designed real-world evidence can complement randomized clinical trials. ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT06659744 , NCT07088718 , NCT07096063 .
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 41207920 · DOI · PMC12823426
Real-world titration, persistence & weight loss of semaglutide and tirzepatide in an academic obesity clinic [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- AimsTrials of the Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP1RAs) found mean weight losses of 15%-21%, yet realworld dose titration and persistence remain suboptimal, limiting effectiveness.
- Closing excerpt
- ConclusionsGLP1RA persistence and dosetitration adherence were moderate but weight loss approximated that seen in clinical trials, supporting real-world effectiveness.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (245 words)
AimsTrials of the Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP1RAs) found mean weight losses of 15%-21%, yet realworld dose titration and persistence remain suboptimal, limiting effectiveness. This study aims to determine real-world titration, persistence and effectiveness of GLP1RAs in patients managed within a multidisciplinary obesity clinic.Materials and methodsThis is a singlecentre, retrospective cohort study of patients seen in a multidisciplinary obesity clinic at an academic medical centre from January 2022 to December 2024. Consecutive patients aged 18-75 years enrolled in a 'no cost to patient' Medical Weight Loss Bundle program who received ≥1 prescription fill of semaglutide or tirzepatide. Of 2855 enrollees, 2306 (81%) received at least one GLP1RA prescription. The primary outcome was persistence with GLP1RA therapy (continuous prescription fills without a gap ≥84 days). Secondary measures included titration adherence and percentage change in body weight.ResultsAmong 2306 patients (median age 46.0 years, Interquartile Ratio [IQR] 38.0-55.0; 85% female; 68% White, 28% Black, 4% Hispanic), with median persistence 10.7 months (IQR 5.4-16.3). Semaglutide was used by 1614 (70%), tirzepatide by 117 (5%), and both agents by 575 (25%). Of semaglutide users, 81% escalated to ≥1 mg and 23% to 2.4 mg; of tirzepatide users, 75% received ≥10 mg and 28% received 15 mg. Among patients persistent for ≥6 months, median weight loss was 9.4% (IQR 6.0%-13.4%); for those persistent for ≥12 months, median weight loss was 14.4% (IQR 9.5%-20.5%).ConclusionsGLP1RA persistence and dosetitration adherence were moderate but weight loss approximated that seen in clinical trials, supporting real-world effectiveness.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 40762026 · DOI · PMC12515774
Tirzepatide leads to weight reduction in people with obesity due to MC4R deficiency [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- The magnitude of weight reduction in the SURMOUNT-1 trial of the dual GLP-1 and GIP receptor agonist tirzepatide suggests that this treatment may be particularly effective in addressing the treatment needs of people with severe obesity (body mass index >40 kg m-2), some of whom may carry rare penetrant genetic variants.
- Closing excerpt
- We conclude that tirzepatide is an effective treatment for the most common genetic subtype of obesity, MC4R deficiency.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (169 words)
The magnitude of weight reduction in the SURMOUNT-1 trial of the dual GLP-1 and GIP receptor agonist tirzepatide suggests that this treatment may be particularly effective in addressing the treatment needs of people with severe obesity (body mass index >40 kg m-2), some of whom may carry rare penetrant genetic variants. Here we investigated the clinical response of men and women in the SURMOUNT-1 trial who carried pathogenic mutations in the melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) gene, the most common genetic cause of obesity. We found that 32 of 2,291 people (1.4%) for whom data were available carried pathogenic MC4R mutations. At baseline, MC4R mutation carriers exhibited a higher body mass index compared with noncarriers (40 kg m-2 versus 38 kg m-2; P = 0.036). In the treatment arm, the weight loss trajectory over 72 weeks was comparable in both groups: 18.3% weight reduction in MC4R mutation carriers versus 19.9% in noncarriers. We conclude that tirzepatide is an effective treatment for the most common genetic subtype of obesity, MC4R deficiency.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 40858971 · DOI · PMC12532586
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Tirzepatide and Cancer Risk in Individuals with and without Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis [4]
- Research article Tirzepatide Versus Semaglutide on Weight Loss in Type 2 Diabetes Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Direct Comparative Studies [5]
- Research article Efficacy and safety of tirzepatide for weight loss in patients with obesity or type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis [6]
- Research article Tirzepatide and cardiometabolic parameters in obesity: Summary of current evidence [7]
- Research article Effects of Tirzepatide in Type 2 Diabetes: Individual Variation and Relationship to Cardiometabolic Outcomes [8]
- Research article Causes and consequences of discontinuation of GLP1RAs or tirzepatide [9]
References
- Krüger N, Schneeweiss S, Desai RJ, Sreedhara SK, Kehoe AR, Fuse K, et al.. Cardiovascular outcomes of semaglutide and tirzepatide for patients with type 2 diabetes in clinical practice. . 2026. PMID 41207920 · DOI · PMC12823426
- Samuels JM, Ye F, Irlmeier R, Silver H, Srivastava G, Spann M. Real-world titration, persistence & weight loss of semaglutide and tirzepatide in an academic obesity clinic. . 2025. PMID 40762026 · DOI · PMC12515774
- Bhatnagar P, Ahmad NN, Li X, Coghlan M, Kaplan LM, Farooqi IS. Tirzepatide leads to weight reduction in people with obesity due to MC4R deficiency. . 2025. PMID 40858971 · DOI · PMC12532586
- Kamrul-Hasan ABM, Alam MS, Dutta D, Sasikanth T, Aalpona FTZ, Nagendra L. Tirzepatide and Cancer Risk in Individuals with and without Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Endocrinol Metab (Seoul). 2025. PMID 39814031 · DOI · PMC11898313
- Wen J, Syed B, Nadora D, How-Volkman C, Bernstein E, Truong A, et al.. Tirzepatide Versus Semaglutide on Weight Loss in Type 2 Diabetes Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Direct Comparative Studies. Endocrinol Diabetes Metab. 2025. PMID 40184508 · DOI · PMC11970626
- Tian Q, Song Y, Deng Y, Lin S. Efficacy and safety of tirzepatide for weight loss in patients with obesity or type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2025. PMID 40747302 · DOI · PMC12310450
- Sattar N, García-Pérez LE, Rodríguez A, Kapoor R, Stefanski A, Hankosky ER. Tirzepatide and cardiometabolic parameters in obesity: Summary of current evidence. Diabetes Obes Metab. 2025. PMID 40555920 · DOI · PMC12409218
- Aminorroaya A, Oikonomou EK, Biswas D, Jastreboff AM, Khera R. Effects of Tirzepatide in Type 2 Diabetes: Individual Variation and Relationship to Cardiometabolic Outcomes. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2025. PMID 40368575 · DOI · PMC12186526
- Ceriello A, Prattichizzo F, Mastan Sheik Abdullah AR, La Grotta R, Berra CC, McGowan B, et al.. Causes and consequences of discontinuation of GLP1RAs or tirzepatide. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2026. PMID 42168641 · DOI
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.