Cardiovascular Benefit, Unequal Access: GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Therapy and Prescribing Disparities in Hispanic Patients with Diabetes and Obesity
Underlined: presenting author
Background
Type 2 diabetes and obesity-related cardiovascular disease disproportionately affect Hispanic/Latino adults in the United States. Over the past two years, semaglutide has been shown to lower cardiovascular and kidney risk in trials like SELECT, FLOW, and SOUL, and newer dual agonists such as tirzepatide and survodutide are now showing similar promise. This review examines the trial evidence for cardiovascular benefit of GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy and characterizes documented racial/ethnic disparities in prescribing and access to these medications among Hispanic patients.
Methods
Narrative review synthesizing recent randomized controlled trial data on GLP-1 receptor agonist cardiovascular outcomes alongside retrospective cohort and pharmacoepidemiologic studies examining prescribing patterns by race and ethnicity in patients with comparable clinical indications.
Findings
Trial evidence consistently demonstrates cardiovascular and renal benefit from GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy across diabetes and obesity populations. Despite this, multiple U.S. cohort studies show Hispanic patients are prescribed GLP-1 receptor agonists and SGLT2 inhibitors at lower rates than non-Hispanic White patients with similar risk profiles, a gap that persists after adjusting for insurance status and is compounded by cost and formulary barriers.
Conclusion
Robust evidence supports GLP-1 receptor agonists as cardiometabolic risk-reducing therapy, yet Hispanic patients face persistent, measurable barriers to accessing them. Clinician awareness, insurance advocacy, and community-level outreach are needed to close this equity gap.