The Study
Long-term kidney outcomes of semaglutide in obesity and cardiovascular disease in the SELECT trial
This study is like a fair race between two groups: one got the real medicine (semaglutide) and the other got a fake one (placebo). Because people were randomly placed in groups, we can be pretty sure any differences in kidney health were caused by the medicine, not other things.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
A medicine called semaglutide, given as a weekly shot, helped protect the kidneys of people who were overweight, had heart disease, but didn’t have diabetes.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 573 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes, the results mean fewer people got serious kidney problems and their kidneys worked better for longer, especially if they already had early damage.
- 21.8% of people on semaglutide had a serious kidney problem vs.
- 32.2% on placebo.
- 4Semaglutide slowed kidney function decline by 0.75 ml/min per year and improved it by 2.19 ml/min in those with early kidney issues.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nature Medicine
Year
2024
Authors
H. Colhoun, I. Lingvay, Paul M. Brown, J. Deanfield, K. Brown-Frandsen, S. Kahn, Jorge Plutzky, K. Node, Alexander Parkhomenko, L. Rydén, J. P. Wilding, J. Mann, K. Tuttle, Thomas Idorn, Naveen Rathor, Michael Lincoff
Related Content
Claims (6)
If you're obese and have heart disease but not diabetes, taking semaglutide might lower your chances of having a serious heart problem by 20%.
For adults who are overweight, have heart disease, but don’t have diabetes, taking a weekly semaglutide shot might help slow down how fast their kidneys lose function each year.
Taking a weekly semaglutide shot might help protect the kidneys in people with extra weight and heart disease—even if they don’t have diabetes.
For adults who are overweight, have heart disease, and early kidney problems but not diabetes, taking a weekly semaglutide shot might help their kidneys work better over two years compared to a placebo.
The kidney benefits from taking a weekly semaglutide shot for weight and heart health probably aren't just because it lowers blood sugar or blood pressure — there might be other ways it's helping the kidneys.
Taking a weekly semaglutide shot might help protect your kidneys by reducing a marker of kidney damage, especially if you already have early signs of kidney issues.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.