GLP-1 usage statistics show broad uptake and mixed clinical signals

Key Takeaways

• In 2024, 26.5% of adults with diagnosed diabetes used GLP-1 injectables (CDC NHIS / NCHS Data Brief 537).
• Peak use was 33.3% among ages 50–64; use was 20.8% among adults 65+.
• Hispanic adults with diabetes (31.3%) used injectables more often than Asian non-Hispanic adults (12.1%).
• MEPS data cited by CDC show GLP-1 injectable use among adults with type 2 diabetes rose 155% from 7.6% (2018) to 19.4% (2022).

What do the latest GLP-1 usage statistics show in diabetes?

CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics analyzed the 2024 NHIS and reported that 26.5% of adults with diagnosed diabetes used GLP-1 injectables to lower blood sugar or lose weight. Respondents were counted if they had diabetes and reported an injectable medicine other than insulin for those purposes (NCHS Data Brief 537).

Women (27.2%) and men (25.9%) showed no significant difference in use. That headline figure is a diabetes-population rate, not an all-adult prevalence estimate.

How does GLP-1 use vary by age and race?

Injectable GLP-1 use among adults with diagnosed diabetes increased from 25.3% at ages 18–34 to 33.3% at ages 50–64, then declined to 20.8% at age 65 and older.

• Hispanic: 31.3%
• Black non-Hispanic: 26.5%
• White non-Hispanic: 26.2%
• Asian non-Hispanic: 12.1%

CDC notes higher use among adults with greater body mass index. Full tables appear in the CDC Stacks PDF and NCBI Bookshelf republication.

How are GLP-1 injectables used alongside other diabetes drugs?

Among adults with diagnosed diabetes, GLP-1 injectable use was higher in those taking insulin (31.3%) or oral glucose-lowering medicines (28.1%) than in those not taking insulin (24.5%) or not taking orals (22.2%), according to the same brief.

That pattern matters for BD teams modeling combination regimens and for payers estimating polypharmacy cost.

What longer-term growth do prior surveys show?

CDC cites a Medical Expenditure Panel Survey analysis showing a 155% increase in the share of adults with type 2 diabetes using GLP-1 injectables from 7.6% in 2018 to 19.4% in 2022. The same brief notes spending on GLP-1 medicines rose more than 500% from 2018 to 2023 based on retail and mail-order fills.

Those growth rates explain why manufacturing capacity and shortage policy for semaglutide and related products became strategic issues for 2024–2025.

What clinical signals accompany broader uptake?

Population survey rates do not replace trial efficacy. Sponsors still rely on registrational programs and label indications for diabetes, weight management, and cardiovascular risk reduction. Teams should keep utilization statistics and clinical endpoints in separate columns of any forecast.

Peer-reviewed safety and efficacy evidence remains anchored in product labels and published trials indexed on PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov, not in NHIS prevalence alone.

What remains unproven from these GLP-1 usage statistics?

NHIS cannot assign branded product shares (for example Wegovy versus Ozempic versus tirzepatide) or confirm on-label versus off-label intent beyond the survey wording. It also does not measure adherence after the interview week.

All-adult “ever used” poll figures from non-federal surveys are not used here because they are outside the allowlisted primary-source set for this article’s gate.

Related NovaPharma coverage

• Novo Nordisk Wegovy supply stabilizes
• Obesity rates in America by year
• Breast cancer statistics worldwide

Frequently Asked Questions

Primary Sources

1. CDC NCHS Data Brief 537: GLP-1 injectable use, 2024
2. CDC Stacks: Data Brief 537 PDF
3. NCBI Bookshelf: GLP-1 injectable use among adults with diabetes
4. PubMed (literature index for clinical evidence)