Semaglutide improves quality of life in diabetes and chronic kidney disease

Clinical Takeaway: For patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, semaglutide may provide benefits that extend beyond kidney and cardiovascular outcomes. These data suggest treatment may help preserve day-to-day functioning and overall well-being, outcomes that many patients consider as important as traditional clinical endpoints.

People living with both type 2 diabetes (T2D) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) often experience reduced physical functioning, treatment burden, and impaired quality of life. New findings from the FLOW trial suggest semaglutide may help address these patient-centered outcomes in addition to its previously demonstrated kidney and survival benefits.

The analysis included 3,533 participants enrolled in the FLOW trial, with 1,767 randomized to semaglutide and 1,766 to placebo. Health-related quality of life was assessed using the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire, which evaluates mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, anxiety/depression, and overall health status.

After two years of treatment, health utility scores remained stable among patients receiving semaglutide but declined among those receiving placebo. The treatment difference of 0.021 (P=0.0001) corresponded to approximately eight additional days per year spent in full health.

Patients treated with semaglutide also reported better overall health status on a visual analogue scale, with a significant treatment difference of 2.15 points (P<0.0001). Improvements were observed across four of the five EQ-5D-5L domains: mobility, self-care, usual activities, and pain/discomfort. No significant difference was seen for anxiety/depression.

Benefits were broadly consistent across patient subgroups, including age, body mass index, kidney function, albuminuria level, and prior cardiovascular disease.

The findings build on previously reported FLOW results showing that semaglutide reduced major kidney disease events by 24% and all-cause mortality by 20% compared with placebo. Together, the data suggest that the benefits of semaglutide in patients with T2D and CKD may extend beyond traditional clinical outcomes to aspects of health that patients experience in everyday life.

Investigators noted that the mechanisms underlying the observed quality-of-life improvements remain uncertain and warrant further study.

“We were surprised by the extent of the quality-of-life benefits seen with semaglutide, because they were not only clinically meaningful but consistently experienced across multiple aspects of daily life, including physical functioning and overall well-being,” said Johannes F.E. Mann, MD, professor of Medicine at Friedrich Alexander University of Erlangen and senior international scholar at McMaster University. “Our findings reinforce the importance of a broader, patient-centered approach to treatment goals.”

Source: Mann, JFE, et al. 2026 June. Abstract ERA26-LBCT-200. Presented at the 63rd ERA Congress, Glasgow, Scotland. The Effects of Semaglutide on Health-Related Quality of Life in Adults with Type 2 Diabetes and Chronic Kidney Disease: FLOW trial