ANOTHER GLP-1 drug has been associated with a lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events compared with alternative treatment, a new study shows.
The study showed Tirzepatide, a dual incretin agonist of glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) receptors, reduced the risk by 32% compared to sitagliptin.
The study included 52,971 adults in the USA with both Type 2 diabetes and established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), of whom 17,618 were treated with sitagliptin placebo proxy, and 35,353 initiated tirzepatide.
After one year, 2.9% of people taking tirzepatide experienced a major cardiovascular event (MACE), compared with 4.4% of those taking sitagliptin.
This means that people taking tirzepatide had about a 32% lower risk of MACE compared with those taking sitagliptin. In practical terms, for every 70 people treated with tirzepatide instead of sitagliptin, one additional major cardiovascular event was prevented.
When the researchers looked at individual cardiovascular events, tirzepatide was linked to a lower risk of heart attack. However, there was no clear difference in the risk of ischaemic stroke between the two groups.
Tirzepatide was also associated with fewer infections requiring hospital treatment. For every 48 people treated with tirzepatide instead of sitagliptin, one hospitalisation for infection was prevented.
There were also fewer deaths caused by infection among people taking tirzepatide, as well as fewer deaths overall.
The researchers also looked at unrelated health conditions as a way of checking whether the results could be explained by other factors. They found no meaningful link between tirzepatide and these conditions.
The findings of the study suggest that tirzepatide may have effects beyond its impact on blood sugar, weight, and traditional cardiovascular risk factors by contributing to a lowered risk of infection related hospitalisation and mortality.
However, because this was a study based on real-world patient data rather than a randomised clinical trial, the findings cannot prove that tirzepatide directly caused these improvements.
Whilst results between treatments vary, these latest findings as fairly to a growing body of evidence backing GLP-1s to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease whilst supporting weight loss in people with Type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular risk, as well as in people with obesity and cardiovascular disease without diabetes.
Krüger N et al. Tirzepatide and the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular events: population based cohort study. BMJ. 2026;394:e100011
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