The Study
Efficacy and Safety of Liraglutide 3.0 mg in Individuals With Overweight or Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes Treated With Basal Insulin: The SCALE Insulin Randomized Controlled Trial
This study is like a science experiment where people were randomly put into two groups: one got the medicine and one got a fake pill. This helps us know that the medicine really caused the weight loss, not just because of something else. So we can say the medicine works for weight loss, but only for people like those in the study (who have diabetes and are on insulin).
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study tested a medicine called liraglutide (at a high dose) in people with both type 2 diabetes and overweight/obesity who were already taking insulin. The medicine helped them lose more weight than a fake treatment when combined with diet and exercise counseling.
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 587 / 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, a 5.8% weight loss is clinically meaningful and can improve health.
- 2The study also showed that liraglutide helps control blood sugar and reduces the amount of insulin needed, which is important for people with type 2 diabetes.
- 3People taking liraglutide lost about 5.8% of their body weight (e.g., 12 pounds for a 200-pound person) compared to 1.5% with placebo.
- 4They also had better blood sugar control and needed less insulin.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Diabetes Care
Year
2020
Authors
W. Garvey, Andreas L. Birkenfeld, D. Dicker, G. Mingrone, S. Pedersen, Altynai Satylganova, D. Skovgaard, D. Sugimoto, Camilla Jensen, Ofri Mosenzon
Related Content
Claims (7)
Liraglutide causes an 8% loss of body weight in people who do not have diabetes.
A daily injection of liraglutide (3.0 mg) plus intense lifestyle coaching helps more overweight adults with type 2 diabetes who already use insulin lose at least 5% of their body weight and lower their blood sugar to healthy levels within 56 weeks. In the study, 39% of those on liraglutide reached both goals, compared to only 14% on placebo.
A 56-week study of overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes who were already using basal insulin found that those who took liraglutide (3.0 mg daily) plus intensive behavioral therapy lost an average of 5.8% of their body weight from the start of the study. Those who received placebo plus the same behavioral therapy lost only 1.5%. This difference of 4.3 percentage points is statistically significant (p < 0.0001), indicating that liraglutide is an effective weight loss medication for this specific patient group.
Liraglutide 3.0 mg lowers blood sugar levels by 1.1% over 56 weeks in overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes who are already on insulin, while placebo lowers it by only 0.6%. The drug works better even when patients use less insulin.
Liraglutide 3.0 mg lowers the daily dose of basal insulin needed by 15 units after 56 weeks of treatment in overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes, compared to placebo, and keeps blood sugar levels stable.
Liraglutide 3.0 mg combined with insulin in overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes does not raise the risk of low blood sugar. It actually leads to fewer episodes of low blood sugar than placebo because patients need less insulin.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.