Top-N Research Lists: Ranked PubMed Studies on GLP-1s
Each list ranks 10 peer-reviewed studies by clinical impact and evidence weight, with PMIDs, ClinicalTrials.gov links, and short editorial summaries.
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Top 10 PubMed Studies on Semaglutide for Weight Loss (2026)
10 ranked papers · semaglutide · wegovy · ozempic
Ten peer-reviewed semaglutide weight-loss studies anchored to the STEP program (STEP-1 to STEP-8, STEP-TEENS, STEP-HFpEF), the SELECT cardiovascular outcomes trial, and OASIS-1 high-dose oral. Each entry includes the PMID, trial design, primary endpoint, and editorial summary.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on Tirzepatide for Weight Loss (2026)
10 ranked papers · tirzepatide · zepbound · mounjaro
Ten peer-reviewed tirzepatide weight-loss studies anchored to the SURMOUNT program (SURMOUNT-1 through SURMOUNT-5, plus SURMOUNT-CN and SURMOUNT-OSA), the SYNERGY-NASH liver-fibrosis trial, the SUMMIT HFpEF trial, and the SURPASS-2 head-to-head against semaglutide. Each entry includes the PMID, trial design, primary endpoint, and editorial summary.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on GLP-1 Cardiovascular Outcomes (2026)
10 ranked papers · GLP-1 · cardiovascular · MACE
Ten landmark cardiovascular outcomes trials that established GLP-1 receptor agonists as cardioprotective drugs beyond glycemic control. Covers MACE reduction in type 2 diabetes (LEADER, SUSTAIN-6, REWIND, HARMONY OUTCOMES, AMPLITUDE-O, PIONEER 6), the SELECT paradigm-shift in obesity without diabetes, kidney outcomes in FLOW, heart failure in STEP-HFpEF, and the foundational neutral ELIXA post-ACS trial. Each entry includes the PMID, NCT, primary endpoint, and editorial summary.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on GLP-1 Receptor Agonists for Kidney Disease (2026)
10 ranked papers · GLP-1 · kidney · CKD
Ten peer-reviewed studies that built the kidney-outcomes case for GLP-1 receptor agonists. FLOW (2024) is the only dedicated CKD pivotal trial and drove the January 2025 FDA kidney label for Ozempic. The other nine are renal-endpoint analyses from major cardiovascular outcomes trials (LEADER, REWIND, SUSTAIN-6, AMPLITUDE-O, ELIXA, SURPASS-4), the AWARD-7 dedicated moderate-to-severe CKD trial in dulaglutide, the FLOW SGLT2 interaction analysis, and a Lancet class-level meta-analysis. Each entry includes PMID, NCT, primary endpoint, and editorial summary.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on GLP-1 Agonists for MASH and MASLD (2026)
10 ranked papers · GLP-1 · MASH · MASLD
Ten peer-reviewed studies that built the GLP-1-class case in metabolic-dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH, formerly NASH) and steatotic liver disease (MASLD, formerly NAFLD). Covers SYNERGY-NASH (tirzepatide phase 2), the ESSENCE phase 3 semaglutide trial, the Newsome 2020 phase 2 semaglutide NASH biopsy trial, the survodutide and retatrutide phase 2 readouts, the foundational LEAN liraglutide trial, semaglutide in MASH-related cirrhosis, the pemvidutide IMPACT phase 2b trial, the SURPASS-3 MRI liver-fat substudy of tirzepatide, and the 2025 Mantovani class-level meta-analysis. Each entry includes PMID, NCT, primary endpoint, and editorial summary.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on Retatrutide (Triple Agonist GLP-1/GIP/Glucagon) 2026
10 ranked papers · retatrutide · GLP-1 · GIP
Ten peer-reviewed retatrutide studies tracing Eli Lilly's triple GIP/GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist from molecular discovery (Coskun 2022) through phase 1b (Urva 2022), the pivotal phase 2 obesity (Jastreboff 2023) and T2D (Rosenstock 2023) trials, MASLD (Sanyal 2024), body composition (Coskun 2025), kidney parameters (Heerspink 2025), the TRANSCEND-CKD phase 3 design (Heerspink 2025), gastric emptying mechanism (Urva 2023), and patient-reported eating attitudes (Kanu 2025). Phase 3 TRIUMPH trials are still pending publication as of May 2026. Each entry includes the PMID, trial design, primary endpoint, and editorial summary.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on GLP-1 Agonists and Mental Health (2026)
10 ranked papers · GLP-1 · mental health · depression
Ten peer-reviewed studies that built the mental-health evidence base for GLP-1 receptor agonists. Only two are randomized trials (Hendershot 2025 JAMA Psychiatry alcohol-use RCT; Wadden 2024 STEP 1/2/3/5 post-hoc psychiatric safety analysis). The other eight are large observational cohorts and pharmacovigilance signal-detection studies — TriNetX EHR cohorts from Wang/Volkow on suicidal ideation, cannabis use, opioid overdose, and tobacco use disorder; the Ueda 2024 Scandinavian register study on completed suicide; McIntyre's FAERS and VigiBase replication; and the Ebrahimi 2025 JAMA Psychiatry meta-analysis pooling 27 RCTs. Each entry includes PMID, NCT where applicable, primary endpoint, study design transparency, and editorial summary noting the observational vs randomized distinction.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on Compounded GLP-1 Safety and Quality (2026)
10 ranked papers · compounded · semaglutide · tirzepatide
Ten peer-reviewed papers that document the safety, quality, and regulatory landscape of compounded GLP-1 receptor agonists. No published head-to-head bioequivalence randomized trial has compared compounded semaglutide or tirzepatide against brand-name Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro, or Zepbound. The literature instead consists of FAERS and EudraVigilance pharmacovigilance studies, poison-control case series, mass-spectrometry impurity analyses, an FDA-shortage 503A-vs-503B regulatory review, the 2025 American Diabetes Association statement, the 2024 Obesity Medicine Association position, a direct-to-consumer market analysis, and clinical-guidance reviews. Each entry includes PMID, source journal, study design, and editorial summary explaining what the paper documents and what it does not establish.
Top PubMed Studies on GLP-1 Drugs for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (2026)
9 ranked papers · GLP-1 · OSA · sleep apnea
Nine peer-reviewed studies that built the case for GLP-1 receptor agonists in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). SURMOUNT-OSA (Malhotra 2024 NEJM) and its 2026 cardiometabolic-risk secondary analysis (Nature Medicine) drove the December 2024 FDA approval of Zepbound for OSA — the first medication of any class with an OSA indication. The list also covers the SCALE Sleep Apnea liraglutide trial, the Sleep AHEAD intensive-lifestyle trial and its 10-year follow-up, a CPAP-vs-liraglutide proof-of-concept RCT, the Wang/Schwab tongue-fat mechanism paper, STEP-HFpEF as adjacent context for OSA-overlap populations, and two 2025-2026 systematic reviews. Each entry includes PMID, NCT, primary endpoint, and editorial summary.
Top PubMed Studies on GLP-1 Drugs and Muscle / Lean Mass Loss (2026)
10 ranked papers · GLP-1 · muscle · lean mass
Ten peer-reviewed studies that frame the muscle-loss question on GLP-1 therapy. Most randomized data comes from DEXA substudies of obesity trials — SURMOUNT-1 (Look 2025 Diabetes Obes Metab), the retatrutide phase-2 T2D body-composition substudy (Coskun 2025 Lancet D&E), and the Hendershot 2025 JAMA Psychiatry semaglutide AUD trial — which together show roughly 25-40% of weight lost on a GLP-1 is lean mass, comparable to or slightly worse than diet/exercise weight loss. The list also covers the Lundgren 2021 NEJM liraglutide-plus-exercise RCT, the Locatelli 2024 Diabetes Care resistance-exercise review, the Karakasis 2025 network meta-analysis, the Neeland 2024 mitigation-strategies review, the Tinsley 2024 fundamental body-composition framework, the Linge 2024 Circulation muscle-mass adaptive-vs-maladaptive paper, and the Nunn 2024 activin-receptor antibody preclinical paper as adjacent muscle-preservation context. Each entry includes PMID, journal, primary endpoint where applicable, and editorial summary.
Top PubMed Studies on GLP-1 Drugs and Bone Health / Fracture Risk (2026)
10 ranked papers · GLP-1 · bone · BMD
Ten peer-reviewed studies that frame the emerging GLP-1 bone-health question. The evidence base is younger and thinner than for cardiovascular or kidney outcomes — most randomized data is from DEXA substudies of obesity weight-loss trials, not dedicated fracture endpoints. Rapid weight loss is known to reduce bone mineral density by roughly 1-3% at the hip and lumbar spine over 12-18 months regardless of how it is achieved, and DEXA substudies of liraglutide and semaglutide have generally found GLP-1-mediated weight loss produces comparable BMD reductions to diet-induced loss. Whether the GLP-1 receptor itself confers an independent bone-protective effect — as proposed by Iepsen's foundational 2015 JCEM trial — remains contested. RCT-level meta-analyses (Mabilleau 2014, Cheng 2019, Zhang 2025) have shown no overall fracture-risk signal in type 2 diabetes populations. Observational and pharmacovigilance work (Ko 2023 JAMA Netw Open, Xiao 2025 FAERS) point toward neutral or favorable fracture profiles versus comparators. Each entry includes PMID, journal, study type, and editorial summary.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on GLP-1 Medications in Adolescents (2026)
10 ranked papers · adolescent · pediatric · STEP-TEENS
Ten peer-reviewed studies anchoring the modern pediatric and adolescent GLP-1 evidence base. Includes the STEP TEENS phase-3 trial that drove the December 2022 FDA approval of Wegovy for ages 12 and up, the SCALE Teens liraglutide pivotal trial behind the 2020 Saxenda adolescent indication, the ELLIPSE-era liraglutide and exenatide trials for pediatric type 2 diabetes, an extension analysis of BMI-threshold response in STEP TEENS, the Mastrandrea trial in children ages 7-11, two Teen-LABS bariatric surgery comparators (the historic alternative for severe pediatric obesity), and two 2025-2026 meta-analyses pooling the pediatric GLP-1 randomized evidence. Each entry includes the PMID, NCT, primary endpoint, and editorial summary.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on GLP-1 in Older Adults (2026)
10 ranked papers · GLP-1 · older adults · geriatric
Ten peer-reviewed studies on GLP-1 receptor agonists in older adults (typically defined as age 65+). The evidence base is dominated by trial-subgroup analyses (STEP-HFpEF, SUSTAIN 6, PIONEER 6, SELECT) and elderly-focused meta-analyses rather than dedicated geriatric trials. Coverage spans efficacy, cardiovascular and heart-failure outcomes, hospitalizations, sarcopenic-obesity risk, lean-mass preservation, and pharmacotherapy considerations. Each entry includes the PMID, trial or analysis design, and editorial summary explaining the relevance to Medicare-age patients.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on GLP-1 in PCOS, Fertility & Ovulation (2026)
10 ranked papers · GLP-1 · PCOS · fertility
Ten peer-reviewed studies that frame the off-label use of GLP-1 receptor agonists in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and the so-called "Ozempic baby" phenomenon. Anchored by the 2013 Endocrine Society PCOS guideline (Legro), the foundational Elkind-Hirsch 2008 exenatide-metformin menstrual-cyclicity trial, the Jensterle Slovenian liraglutide series, Salamun's pre-IVF liraglutide study, and the most recent 2024-2025 meta-analyses and reviews on endometrial receptivity and pregnancy. Honest framing: GLP-1s remain off-label for PCOS, evidence is largely observational, and weight loss per the Legro guideline restores ovulation independent of mechanism.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on GLP-1 Long-Term Safety (2026)
10 ranked papers · GLP-1 · long-term safety · pharmacovigilance
Ten peer-reviewed studies that extend GLP-1 safety data past the typical 68-72 week pivotal-trial window. Covers two-year semaglutide durability (STEP-5), the 3.3-year mean follow-up of SELECT, the 3.8-year median of LEADER, the 5.4-year median of REWIND, the SURMOUNT-4 maintenance design, the STEP-1 withdrawal extension, FAERS and WHO pharmacovigilance signals for biliary, suicidality and gastrointestinal adverse events, plus a large multinational cohort on thyroid-cancer risk. Each entry includes PMID, follow-up duration, primary safety endpoint, and editorial summary. Honest framing: most randomized GLP-1 safety data run two to four years; only LEADER and post-marketing liraglutide registries reach a true decade-plus.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on GLP-1 Drugs for Dementia and Alzheimer's (2026)
10 ranked papers · GLP-1 · dementia · Alzheimer
Ten peer-reviewed studies tracking the GLP-1 dementia and Alzheimer's evidence base — the ELAD phase 2b liraglutide trial, the evoke and evoke+ phase 3 oral-semaglutide trials still reading out, the REWIND dulaglutide cognitive substudy that first raised the signal, two Wang target-trial emulations using US claims data, the Sabbagh pooled safety analysis in adults ≥65, head-to-head real-world comparisons of tirzepatide and semaglutide, a CKD subpopulation analysis, and an O'Mara meta-analysis of nondiabetic MCI/AD randomized trials. Each entry includes PMID, NCT when applicable, primary endpoint, and editorial summary.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Substance Use (2026)
10 ranked papers · GLP-1 · addiction · alcohol
Ten peer-reviewed studies that built the emerging case for GLP-1 receptor agonists as substance-use-disorder pharmacotherapy. The evidence base is small and mostly observational: two randomized controlled trials (Hendershot 2025 semaglutide-AUD; Klausen 2022 exenatide-AUD) anchor the list, joined by the Wang/Volkow TriNetX series on cannabis, tobacco, and opioid use disorder, the Lahteenvuo Finnish nationwide cohort on AUD relapse, the Quddos retrospective on obesity patients, the Farokhnia/Leggio pharmacoepidemiology study, the Martinelli systematic review, and the Leggio Nat Med editorial that frames the field. Each entry includes PMID, design, and an honest readout of what it does and does not prove.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on GLP-1 Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Impact (2026)
10 ranked papers · GLP-1 · cost-effectiveness · ICER
Ten peer-reviewed economic evaluations of GLP-1 receptor agonists. Headline finding: at current US list prices, semaglutide and tirzepatide for obesity exceed conventional cost-effectiveness thresholds ($100K/QALY) in most US analyses — but become cost-effective in populations with established cardiovascular disease, in T2D, in non-US health systems with negotiated pricing, and after the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program's 2027 price applicability for semaglutide. Each entry includes the PMID, perspective, time horizon, ICER result, and editorial summary.
Top 10 PubMed Studies on GLP-1 Outcomes in Cancer Survivors (2026)
10 ranked papers · GLP-1 · cancer survivor · breast cancer
Ten peer-reviewed studies on GLP-1 use in cancer survivors — patients who have completed primary treatment and now face chemotherapy-related weight gain, hormone-therapy-induced metabolic disruption (aromatase inhibitors, tamoxifen, androgen-deprivation therapy), and elevated cardiometabolic risk. The evidence is heavily observational: Sukumar 2026 (MD Anderson breast-survivor cohort), Cornelio 2026 (real-world cardiovascular outcomes), Wooster 2025 (Columbia weight-management utilization), Lopez 2026 (SEER-Medicare older-women cohort), Jung 2025 (Korean nationwide weight-change cohort), and Kajitani 2020 (post-orchiectomy case series). Two narrative-review syntheses (Howard 2026 JAMA Oncol; Hundal 2026 ASCO Educational Book), one tamoxifen-specific review (Fore-Williams 2026), and one ADT-focused systematic review (Pahulu 2026) round out the list. No dedicated cancer-survivor RCT exists yet — weight-loss efficacy is extrapolated from STEP and SURMOUNT, while the Bezin 2023 cohort frames the safety conversation around thyroid neoplasia history.