People living with both type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease often face many daily challenges. They may feel tired, experience physical limitations, take multiple medications, attend frequent medical appointments, and worry about the future of their health.
While doctors usually focus on preventing kidney failure, heart attacks, and early death, many patients care just as much about something else: how they feel from day to day. A new study suggests that a widely used medication may help improve both.
Researchers have reported new findings from the landmark FLOW trial, showing that the once-weekly drug semaglutide can significantly improve quality of life in people with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. The results were presented at the 63rd ERA Congress and add an important new dimension to what scientists already know about the medication.
Semaglutide belongs to a group of medicines called GLP-1 receptor agonists. These drugs were originally developed to help lower blood sugar in people with diabetes. Over time, they have become well known because they can also help people lose weight and reduce the risk of heart disease. Brand names that contain semaglutide include Ozempic and Wegovy.
Previous findings from the FLOW trial already showed that semaglutide reduced the risk of major kidney disease events by 24% and lowered the risk of death from any cause by 20% compared with a placebo. These results attracted worldwide attention because chronic kidney disease is one of the fastest-growing health problems globally.
More than 850 million people around the world are currently living with chronic kidney disease. The condition occurs when the kidneys become damaged and cannot properly remove waste and excess fluid from the blood.
Diabetes and high blood pressure are among the leading causes. If the disease continues to worsen, patients may eventually need dialysis or a kidney transplant.
The new analysis focused on how participants felt during treatment. Researchers studied 3,533 people enrolled in the FLOW trial. Half received semaglutide and half received a placebo. Participants regularly completed questionnaires designed to measure health-related quality of life.
The questionnaire asked about important areas of everyday life, including mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain, discomfort, anxiety, depression, and overall health. Researchers tracked responses over several years.
After two years, participants taking semaglutide maintained stable quality-of-life scores, while those receiving placebo experienced a gradual decline. The difference was equivalent to about eight additional days per year spent in perfect health.
Participants also rated their overall health more positively while taking semaglutide. Four important areas of daily life improved significantly compared with placebo: mobility, self-care, daily activities, and pain or discomfort. Anxiety and depression scores did not show a meaningful difference between the two groups.
Professor Johannes Mann, who led the study, said the team was surprised by the size of the improvement. Researchers initially worried that common digestive side effects associated with GLP-1 medications might reduce overall quality of life. Instead, they found the opposite.
The benefits appeared across a wide range of participants, including people of different ages, body weights, kidney function levels, and cardiovascular histories. This suggests the improvements were not limited to a small group of patients.
These findings may change how doctors discuss treatment options with patients. Traditionally, conversations focus on laboratory results and disease progression. However, patients often place equal importance on maintaining independence, staying active, and feeling well.
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Source: ERA Congress.
