Continuous Positive Airway Pressure: Participants allocated to CPAP will be managed by their caring sleep physician as per their normal practice. Participants may also be counselled on losing weight with diet and exercise as per usual practice.
Tirzepatide: Patients allocated to weight loss with tirzepatide will be managed by the study dietitian. The tirzepatide formulation is administered subcutaneously once weekly using single-use injection pens. Participants will undergo a 20-week dose escalation phase followed by a dose maintenance phase for the remainder of the 12-month study period.
Study summary
When used, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is an effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition that is mainly caused by overweight and obesity. However, CPAP is plagued by poor adherence and high rates of discontinued use leaving most patients undertreated and at risk of serious health complications. This study aims to test whether new effective weight loss pharmacotherapy is superior to CPAP for alleviating OSA and improving health outcomes.
Eligibility
Sex
ALL
Min age
18 Years
Max age
—
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion Criteria:
* Females and Males aged ≥ 18 years at the time of signing informed consent
* Moderate-severe OSA defined as an AHI ≥ 15/hr determined from a Type 1 or 2 sleep study conducted within the previous 12 months with a clinician recommendation for CPAP therapy.
* Moderate overweight or obesity defined as BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2. (Adjusted to BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2 for Asian populations as per WHO guidelines (WHO Expert Consultation (2004))
* No contraindication to tirzepatide use as per Australian Product Information
* Home internet access to enable cloud storage of SleepTracker-AI in-home BDI.
* Fluent English literacy and able to provide informed consent.
Exclusion Criteria:
OSA or other respiratory related criteria:
* Respiratory failure including obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS) or daytime hypercapnia or moderate-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with FEV1/FVC ratio\<0.7 and FEV1\<80% predicted (GOLD criteria).
* Driver occupation with excessive sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale \>=16) or sleepiness-related motor vehicle accident or near accident within 12 months prior to enrolment
* Current or prior (≤3 months) OSA treatment with mechanical therapy (CPAP, MAS, Positional)
* \>50% respiratory events with Cheyne-Stokes Respiration (CSR) or Central Sleep Apnoea (CSA)
* Relative or absolute contraindication to CPAP including chronic cranial injury; recurrent pneumothorax; indication for oral-pharyngeal surgery, significant craniofacial abnormalities that may affect breathing, or are unwilling to use CPAP
* Any previous or planned surgery for OSA or major ear, nose or throat surgery, including tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy that still may affect breathing (NB: Inclusion of a participant with more minor ear, nose or throat surgery (for example, deviated septum) will be at the investigator's discretion)
Glycaemia related criteria:
* HbA1c ≥ 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) at screening
* Type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus
* Treatment with glucose-lowering agent(s) within 90 days before screening
* Treatment with a GLP-1 receptor agonist within 90 days before screening
Obesity related criteria:
* A self-reported change in body weight \>5 kg or \>5% within 90 days before baseline
* Treatment with medication for the indication of obesity within 90 days before baseline and/or currently enrolled in a weight loss program
Other criteria:
* Pregnancy/breast feeding or planning a pregnancy during the trial period
* Relative or absolute contraindication to tirzepatide including needle phobia
Primary outcome measure(s)
Breathing Disturbance Index (BDI) — The mean BDI measured over 28 nights of monitoring is calculated for baseline (Weeks -4 to 0) and follow-up (Weeks 48 to 52) BDI is the primary severity metric of OSA in the trial which is measured by the number of breathing disturbances per hour of sleep. This is measured using contactless mattress-based OSA monitors (SleepTracker-AI) that can automatically and reliably measure true OSA alleviation every night for the entire period of sleep.
This page summarises publicly available registry data for informational purposes — not medical advice. Eligibility is determined by each study team; patients should discuss participation with their clinician.
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