Effects of Semaglutide on Albuminuria and Kidney Function in People With Overweight or Obesity With or Without Type 2 Diabetes: Exploratory Analysis From the STEP 1, 2, and 3 Trials
Diabetes Care. 2023; online ahead of print DOI: 10.2337/dc22-1889
In the STEP trials, semaglutide markedly reduced body weight and improved glycaemic control in adults with overweight or obesity with/without T2D. However, the effects of semaglutide on albuminuria and eGFR are unknown.
These post hoc analyses explored the effects of semaglutide compared with placebo on albuminuria in patients with T2D in the STEP 2 trial, the only STEP trial to measure UACR. In addition, any semaglutide-mediated changes in eGFR were evaluated in a pooled analysis of STEP 1–3.
In STEP 2, semaglutide significantly reduced albuminuria and increased the likelihood of improvement from a high to lower albuminuria category. Albuminuria improvements were seen across subgroups including participants using RASi or SGLT2i at baseline. Semaglutide did not affect the rate of change in eGFR over time in the pool of participants from the three trials, of whom the vast majority had normal kidney function.