Financing of effective drugs for obesity

The obesity in our country it has doubled since 1987 to 2020. According to experts, it is easier to find an overweight or obese person on the street than a thin one. These data worry health professionals, since this disease is associated with many cardiovascular events, which in turn lead to mortality. Therefore, within the framework of the XXXVI Congress of the Spanish Atherosclerosis Society (SEA)there has been a table titled ‘Obesity and cardio-vascular-renal disease’ where the drug financing effective for this pathology.

“Obesity leads to increased cardiovascular and renal mortality. Currently, it is considered a cardiovascular-renal disease and there are already drugs that have shown that reducing weight reduce cardiovascular-renal events“said Carlos Morillas, head of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Section at the Doctor Peset Hospital (Valencia) and moderator of this debate.

One of the aspects that has come to light in this talk is the inflammation of obese patient due to their insulin resistance. In fact, it is a direct consequence of the cardiovascular problems and kidneys throughout their evolution. According to Morillas, this has been treated by changing the lifestyle of the patients, however, all these attempts have failed. However, there is hope because they have arrived effective drugs that in addition to help lose weight In a healthy way, they reduce cardiovascular events in patients. A paradigm not seen until now.

Access to obesity drugs

What is the main objective in the addressing obesity and cardio-vascular-renal disease? Specifically, the obstacle now lies in the access to these drugs that have been shown to be effective. “Obesity should be considered a chronic disease, we must try to finance these drugs for patients who have a vascular event and are overweight or obese“said the head of the Endocrinology and Nutrition Section at the Doctor Peset Hospital (Valencia).

In this same sense, he has insisted on the need for them to be able receive these treatments, “even if it is not 100 percent” paid by the administration. In this way, these therapies will be compared to other chronic treatmentsfor hypertension, for cholesterol: “It is time to finance effective drugs for obesity“.

Leaving aside this more vindictive role, Morillas has reflected on improving the population’s lifestyle. He refers above all to do more physical exercise (including muscle strength activities) and follow a healthy diet. All this combined with drugs appetite suppressants will help improve the prognosis of obese patients.

Also participating in this table organized by the SEA was Juan José Gorgojo, head of Endocrinology at the Fundación Alcorcón University Hospital (Madrid), who presented the evidence of intervention in people with obesity and arteriosclerotic disease. Throughout his talk he has detailed important data such as that abdominal obesity is the cause of 20 percent of acute myocardial infarctions and that obesity in general increases the risk of chronic kidney disease by 20 percent.

For its part, Almudena Castrohead of the Section of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit of the La Paz University Hospital (Madrid) and speaker at this meeting, stressed that it is a “very good time” for cardiovascular prevention because “the world of lipids has opened up.”