Long-term administration of liraglutide for weight management in pediatric patients under 18 years: evidence from 7 randomized controlled trials.

Abstract

Liraglutide, an analog of glucagon-like peptide-1, is prescribed for managing weight in obese people. This meta-analysis investigated whether liraglutide was suitable for younger children with obesity, and to evaluate the efficacy and safety of varying treatment durations and dosage regimens. Randomized controlled trials published up to March 20, 2025 were retrieved from in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane library, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Seven trials involving 575 patients were included in the analysis. Liraglutide significantly decreased body mass index (BMI) (WMD: -0.57; P = 0.007), BMI z-score (WMD: -0.45; P < 0.00001), body weight (WMD: -0.31; P = 0.0004), HbA1c (WMD: -0.43; P = 0.004), fasting plasma glucose (WMD: -1.23; P = 0.003) and systolic blood pressure (WMD: -0.20; P = 0.03) compared with placebos in obese children and adolescents. Subgroup analyses found that children 6-12 years of age did not have a significantly different BMI z-score (z = 1.76; P = 0.08) and body weight (z = 1.75; P = 0.08) versus adolescents. Fifty-six weeks of liraglutide treatment (z = 4.60; P < 0.00001) significantly reduced the BMI z-score versus the short-term treatment group (<13 weeks) (z = 1.20; P = 0.23). Liraglutide was an effective and safe option for managing overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. Liraglutide was more suitable for adolescents and is endorsed for long-term use. This is the first meta-analysis to explore the suitability of liraglutide for younger children with obesity and to evaluate its efficacy and safety across varying treatment durations and dosage regimens. Earlier meta-analyses did not include children under 12 years, and neither dosage nor treatment duration was specifically addressed. Our result shows liraglutide is an effective and safe option for managing overweight and obesity in children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years. Liraglutide was more suitable for adolescents and is endorsed for long-term use.