A national cross-sectional survey conducted in June 2025 captured self-reported discontinuation experiences among US adults who initiated a GLP-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) between January 2022 and June 2025 and later stopped the medication. Of 7,035 individuals screened, 440 met eligibility and completed the survey.
Timing of discontinuation was concentrated early after initiation: 54.6% of respondents reported stopping within 6 months of starting therapy, and 79.7% discontinued within 12 months. The survey therefore indicates that the majority of discontinuation events occurred within the first year of therapy, with more than half occurring within the first six months.
Respondents reported a variety of medication sources and payment mechanisms. Approximately 1 in 7 (14.4%) said they obtained GLP-1 RAs from a friend or family member. About 9.8% reported sourcing medication from a compounding pharmacy and 9.1% from an Internet-based source. These alternative sourcing pathways were used alongside more conventional retail and mail-order pharmacies, which were implicitly the comparison group in reported analyses.
Use of cost-mitigation and sampling mechanisms was common: 35.4% of discontinuers reported using a copayment coupon and 22.0% reported using a free sample. Notably, 31.3% of respondents reported that they first filled a GLP-1 RA prescription without using insurance coverage.
Respondents selected one or more reasons for stopping therapy. The most frequently cited reasons were cost (36.1%), side effects (33.3%), lack of insurance coverage (28.2%), and having achieved a weight-loss goal (26.1%). These reasons highlight both economic and clinical drivers of discontinuation as well as patient-reported goal attainment that led to stopping treatment.
Other reasons were reported, including perceived ineffectiveness; the survey found differences in perceived effectiveness by medication source (see section below). The abstract does not list additional specific reasons beyond those enumerated above or provide a complete ranked list of all response categories.
The survey assessed associations between respondent characteristics and reasons for stopping. Respondents who reported having type 2 diabetes were significantly more likely to discontinue because of side effects compared with respondents without diabetes (50.1% vs 28.1%; P = 0.0008).
Medication source was associated with different discontinuation rationales: individuals who obtained GLP-1 RAs from a compounding pharmacy or Internet-based source were significantly more likely to report that they perceived the medication to be ineffective compared with those who obtained medication from retail or mail-order pharmacies (17.5% vs 6.6%; P = 0.009).
However, neither diabetes status nor the GLP-1 RA source was significantly associated with early discontinuation (defined in the study as <6 months).
The study used a cross-sectional design, fielded through Ipsos Omnibus in June 2025. Survey weights were calibrated to census benchmarks to enhance representativeness. Inclusion criteria were initiation of a GLP-1 RA between January 2022 and June 2025 with subsequent discontinuation before the survey date.
Of the 440 eligible respondents who completed the survey, 51.1% were female; 42.3% were aged 18–34 years; and 23.8% reported having type 2 diabetes. Outcomes collected included duration of GLP-1 RA use, self-reported reason(s) for discontinuation, medication source, out-of-pocket payment, and insurance coverage. Descriptive statistics and chi-square tests were used to evaluate associations.
The abstract reports the key sample counts, percentages, and P values cited above. Further methodological details (for example, response rate among those invited, questionnaire wording, handling of missing data, or sensitivity analyses) and study limitations beyond those summarized in the abstract were not reported in the source abstract.
In this nationally weighted survey of US adults who discontinued GLP-1 RAs, most respondents stopped therapy within the first 6 months. The leading self-reported reasons were cost, adverse effects, lack of insurance coverage, and having achieved a weight-loss goal. The data also highlight nontraditional medication sourcing (friends/family, compounding pharmacies, Internet-based sources) and frequent use of copayment coupons and samples among discontinuers.
Authors conclude that differences in coverage, cost, and sourcing are modifiable targets that could reduce high rates of early GLP-1 RA discontinuation. The abstract notes statistically significant subgroup differences for side-effect–related discontinuation by diabetes status and perceived ineffectiveness by medication source.
Policy, payer, and clinical interventions addressing affordability, coverage policies, counseling on adverse effects, and safe sourcing may therefore influence persistence with GLP-1 RA therapy. The abstract does not report longitudinal follow-up, specific intervention outcomes, or detailed limitations; those details would require consulting the full article.