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# GLP-1 initiators lost 2.75 points more skeletal muscle on repeat whole-body MRI
- URL: https://www.coios.me/glp-1-initiators-lost-2-75-points-more-skeletal-muscle-on/
- Published: 2026-09-18T23:14:08.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-18T23:14:08.000Z
- Description: Among 58 adults with diabetes in the German National Cohort who started a GLP-1 receptor agonist between two whole-body MRI examinations 4.6 years apart, skeletal muscle volume fell 2.75 percentage points more than in 130 matched unexposed controls.
- Author: Daniel Ryan
- Tags: Healthcare today, Obesity, diabetes and the GLP-1 drugs, Germany, #preprint, #new, #item, #source-2026-09

Repeat whole-body MRI in the German National Cohort was used to compare tissue volumes in 58 adults with diabetes who initiated a GLP-1 receptor agonist between scans with 130 controls matched on sex, age, BMI and scan interval. Muscle volume declined 2.75 percentage points more in initiators (95% CI -4.51 to -0.99), alongside 2.54 percentage points greater weight loss, while adipose tissue differences were not statistically significant. The authors describe this as roughly 60% more muscle loss in initiators.

*Why it is interesting: Body-composition evidence on GLP-1 use outside trials, measured by imaging rather than weight, though on only 58 exposed people.*

Source

[medRxiv, 2026-09-17](https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.15.26363157?ref=coios.me)

DOI

10.64898/2026.09.15.26363157

Type

Preprint

Design

Matched prospective cohort within the German National Cohort, 58 GLP-1 initiators vs 130 unexposed adults with diabetes, repeat whole-body MRI 4.6 years apart

Verdict

New finding

Driver

[Obesity, diabetes and the GLP-1 drugs](https://www.coios.me/d-obesity-diabetes/)