The short answer
Two trials found fewer interrupted-breathing events during sleep with tirzepatide than placebo in adults with obesity and moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea.
What was tested?
SURMOUNT-OSA included 469 adults across two 52-week trials, with 234 and 235 participants. One enrolled people not using positive airway pressure (PAP); the other enrolled PAP users. Both compared weekly tirzepatide with placebo.
The main finding
Researchers counted breathing interruptions per hour of sleep, called the apnea–hypopnea index. Average reductions were:
Events per hour
Original chart based on the study. Values are reported group results.
| Group or measure | Result |
|---|---|
| No PAP: tirzepatide | 25.3 |
| No PAP: placebo | 5.3 |
| PAP users: tirzepatide | 29.3 |
| PAP users: placebo | 5.5 |
PAP users temporarily suspended it before study measurements. This was not a trial of replacing PAP with medication.
Digestive side effects were the most common and were generally mild or moderate. Weight and reported sleep-related outcomes also improved.
What does it mean?
These findings connect weight-management treatment with an important everyday problem: disrupted sleep. They do not establish the same benefit in people without obesity or outcomes beyond one year.
Sources
Malhotra and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2024. Funded by Eli Lilly. Read the paper.