A French multicenter cohort study found that treatment with glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists was associated with reductions in hidradenitis suppurativa severity, symptoms, and body mass index at 6 months.
Among 66 patients with dermatologist-confirmed hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) who had received a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists for at least 3 months between 2017 and 2024., 54% achieved at least a 1-point reduction in the Hidradenitis Suppurativa Physician’s Global Assessment (HS-PGA), and 60% reported fewer flares compared with baseline. Mean HS-PGA scores fell from 3 to 2, flare frequency declined from 5 to 4 episodes over 3 months, pain scores decreased from 5 to 4, suppuration from 6 to 4, and Dermatology Life Quality Index from 16 to 12. BMI decreased from 40 to 37. At last follow-up, 62% of patients achieved a 1-point HS-PGA reduction, and 32% reached a 2-point reduction. Pain and suppuration improved in about 60% of patients, and about half reported better quality-of-life.
The median follow-up was 19 months. Most patients received semaglutide, while others received dulaglutide or liraglutide. The median age was 46 years, 58% were women, and most had obesity and type 2 diabetes. Disease stage at baseline was Hurley I in 45%, Hurley II in 32%, and Hurley III in 23%.
To address confounding, the researchers analyzed a subgroup of 34 patients whose HS treatments had not changed in the 12 months before the 6-month assessment. In this group, improvements were consistent across all outcomes, mirroring the findings in the full cohort.
Louise Gouvrion, MD, of the Department of Dermatology, Rennes University Hospital, Rennes, France and colleauges, wrote that the retrospective design “prevents definitive conclusions” but added that the consistency of results supports a potential role for GLP-1 RAs in HS.
Limitations included retrospective design, treatment heterogeneity, and absence of biological measures such as glycemic control. The authors recommended randomized clinical trials to confirm these findings.
Full disclosures can be found in the study.
Source: JAMA Dermatology
