Novo presents semaglutide data across sleep apnea, asthma and liver disease

Novo Nordisk presented a batch of new post hoc analyses of semaglutide (Wegovy) at the American Diabetes Association's 2026 Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, held June 5 to 8.^[1][2] The data come from four already-completed or ongoing trials: SELECT, STEP, ESSENCE, and OASIS. They look at how semaglutide affected obstructive sleep apnea, asthma flare-ups, blood pressure, and liver health in people who were already enrolled in these studies for other reasons.^[1]

In the SELECT trial, which tracked 17,604 adults with obesity or overweight and established cardiovascular disease, 2,550 participants (14.5%) reported having obstructive sleep apnea at the start.^[1] Among those without sleep apnea at baseline, people on semaglutide 2.4 mg had fewer new cases (30) than those on placebo (65), a difference the company says was statistically significant (hazard ratio 0.48, meaning roughly half the risk).^[1] The drug's benefit for reducing major cardiovascular events held up regardless of sleep apnea status.^[1]

A separate SELECT analysis looked at 1,190 participants who had asthma. Those on semaglutide had fewer asthma-related adverse events (27) than those on placebo (46), also a statistically significant difference.^[1] Blood levels of a common inflammation marker, hsCRP, fell by 38.9% from baseline in the semaglutide group over 104 weeks, though white blood cell counts linked to allergic inflammation did not change.^[1]

In a pooled analysis of 597 people with overweight or obesity and uncontrolled high blood pressure from the STEP and OASIS 4 trials, semaglutide was linked to lower systolic blood pressure (a difference of about 5.5 points versus placebo) and lower diastolic blood pressure (about 2.7 points) at 68 weeks.^[1] Separately, in the ESSENCE trial of people with MASH liver disease and moderate-to-advanced scarring, the first 800 participants studied showed improvements in several liver health markers, including ALT and measures of stiffness and fibrosis, alongside better blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol readings through 72 weeks.^[1] A STEP 1 analysis also found reduced fatty liver index scores by week 68.^[1] And in OASIS 4, people with a lower starting body mass index (27 to under 35) saw similar or greater improvements in weight-related health markers by week 64 compared with those who had more severe obesity, with 27% reaching a low-risk category on one measure versus 2% of the more severely obese group.^[1]

Why it matters for patients

These findings may be encouraging for people already taking semaglutide for weight loss or diabetes who also have sleep apnea, asthma, high blood pressure, or fatty liver disease. But Novo Nordisk and outside experts are careful to note that post hoc analyses are exploratory. They look back at data collected for a different primary purpose, so they can generate ideas for future research but cannot prove a drug works for a new condition.^[1] Semaglutide is not approved to treat obstructive sleep apnea, asthma, high blood pressure, or MASLD (fatty liver disease), and its safety and effectiveness for these conditions have not been formally established.^[1]

Patients should also keep in mind the drug's known risks. Semaglutide carries a boxed warning about possible thyroid tumors, including cancer, and it should not be used by people with a personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2.^[1] Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, stomach pain, headache, and fatigue.^[1]

What happens next

Novo Nordisk says it plans to keep studying semaglutide's effects across obesity-related complications.^[1] The ESSENCE trial's second part, tracking whether semaglutide reduces serious liver-related events over 240 weeks, is still ongoing.^[1] Whether any of the conditions highlighted at ADA 2026 — sleep apnea, asthma, hypertension, or fatty liver disease — will become a formal, tested indication is not yet known from the sources available.