Telehealth survey finds most tirzepatide users with sleep apnea reported better sleep

A survey of people taking tirzepatide for overweight or obesity who also had a history of obstructive sleep apnea found that 86.7 percent of 181 respondents reported improvement in at least one sleep-related outcome, and 77.3 percent reported improvement in more than one ^[1]. The results were published June 5, 2026 as abstract 2604-P in the journal Diabetes, part of the American Diabetes Association's scientific sessions abstracts ^[1]. The work was funded by Roman Health Ventures, the parent company of the telehealth platform Ro, and most authors listed are its employees ^[1].

How the survey was done

The researchers pulled electronic health record data on 5,372 patients with overweight or obesity and a history of sleep apnea who had received tirzepatide through a telehealth platform for at least 28 days ^[1]. In June 2025, those patients were sent a survey asking about perceived changes in sleep-related outcomes, adapted from the Patient Global Impression of Change scale and measured on a seven-point scale running from "much worse" to "much improved" ^[1]. Answers were grouped into "improved" versus "no change or worsened" ^[1].

Of the 5,372 patients, 199 responded and 181 provided data that could be analyzed ^[1]. Median age was 48 (interquartile range 41 to 56), median body mass index before treatment was 37.2 (IQR 32.7 to 41.1), 53.0 percent were female and 46.4 percent male, and median treatment duration was 87 days (IQR 54 to 127) ^[1].

What patients reported

Improvements in energy levels were reported by 72.4 percent of the 181 respondents (131 people), daytime sleepiness by 60.2 percent (109), sleep quality by 59.7 percent (108) and snoring by 59.1 percent (107) ^[1]. The abstract reports that proportions were compared with chi-square tests with corrections for multiple comparisons, with P values below .001 for the two overall measures and .024 to .028 for the individual symptoms ^[1].

What the survey does not show

The response rate was low: 199 people answered out of 5,372 who were sent the survey ^[1]. The abstract does not describe how the people who answered differed from the rest of that group, so it is not known whether those who felt better were more likely to respond. The results are based on what patients said they noticed, not on sleep study measurements, and there was no comparison group of patients who were not taking tirzepatide ^[1]. The abstract also does not report baseline sleep apnea severity, use of CPAP or other breathing machines, weight change, tirzepatide dose, which brand was used, or whether any improvements lasted ^[1].

Because the survey was funded by Roman Health Ventures and most authors are its employees, the findings come from the company whose platform delivered the treatment being studied ^[1]. One author reports holding stock in Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Viking Therapeutics, Altimmune, Roivant and Tempus AI ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

Clinical trials have shown that tirzepatide improves obstructive sleep apnea severity, but real-world data have been limited, which is the gap this analysis was designed to address ^[1]. Real-world reports can be useful because they reflect people using a drug in routine care, including through telehealth, rather than in a tightly controlled study ^[1]. But a self-reported survey with a low response rate carries less weight than a trial that measures breathing during sleep, and it cannot show that the drug caused the improvements people described ^[1].

The abstract does not say whether any patients stopped or reduced CPAP use, whether sleep apnea was formally re-tested, or how these reports compare with the trial results that led to tirzepatide's use in sleep apnea ^[1]. Patients weighing whether a GLP-1 medication might help sleep-related symptoms will not find those answers here. What the survey offers is a signal about how a small, self-selected group of telehealth patients described their sleep, energy and snoring after a median of about three months on tirzepatide ^[1].

What happens next

Whether a full peer-reviewed paper, longer follow-up or additional analyses will follow this abstract has not been reported ^[1]. No further trial results or regulatory actions tied to these survey findings have been disclosed ^[1].