WCM-Q researcher contributes to regional obesity and cardiovascular disease prevention study

A researcher at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) contributed to a major scientific study calling for action to prevent cardiovascular disease in overweight and obese individuals in the Middle East.

Dr. Charbel Abi Khalil, professor of genetic medicine, medicine, and population health sciences, contributed analysis and insights from Qatar’s perspective to the study, which estimates that more than 34 million people across the Middle East could potentially benefit from a new approach to cardiovascular prevention that treats overweight and obesity as a direct and manageable part of heart disease risk.

The study, published in Obesity Reviews, a leading international journal and the official journal of the World Obesity Federation outlines the estimated burden of comorbid overweight and obesity and cardiovascular disease in 21 countries across the Middle East and North Africa, based on analysis of global data and registry data from more than 29,000 individual patients with established cardiovascular disease. Dr. Abi Khalil was one of 20 Gulf-based researchers to contribute, joining fellow physician-scientists from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE.

From their analysis of the data, the researchers estimated that approximately 34 million patients across the Middle East could benefit from secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease using treatments that target overweight and obesity, such as semaglutide medications, better known by brand names like Ozempic and Wegovy.  While these medications are usually used to treat type 2 diabetes, some clinical trials show that they are effective at reducing the risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular death among people who are overweight or obese but who do not have diabetes.

Dr. Abi Khalil said: “It was a great honor to be able to contribute Qatar’s part to this important scientific review. The research highlights clinical evidence showing that new therapies that target weight loss could be extremely beneficial to the long-term health outcomes of people in the region living with cardiovascular disease who are also overweight or obese. We therefore call for a review of healthcare policy in the region to facilitate access to these new treatments.”

The paper highlights issues including cost, insurance coverage, limited physician training, weight stigma and reluctance to prescribe newer therapies as barriers to treatment.

The issue is particularly relevant in Qatar, with national and global studies showing that rates of obesity and overweight are among the highest in the region. The 2023 National STEPwise Survey found that about 70 percent of adult Qataris are overweight or obese, and rates among children and adolescents are also high.

The review, titled ‘Targeting Overweight and Obesity Phenotypes for Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: A Call to Action for the Middle East and Beyond,’ can be read in full at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/obr.70204