The missing chairs
Human randomized follow-up · Published February 23, 2017
What changes when half the participants do not finish?
Subject One counts chairs in a lecture hall, then notices how many are empty. “Can we assume they all heard the ending?” Doctide hands him the follow-up sheet. He writes a question mark beside every seat he cannot account for.
What changes here
Fewer diabetes diagnoses occurred during treatment, but missing follow-up matters. [1]
Read the study details & dates
The missing chairs
NCT01272219: 160-week double-blind comparison in 2,254 adults with prediabetes and obesity, or overweight with comorbidities. Daily subcutaneous liraglutide versus placebo plus diet/activity measures. Study dates: June 1, 2011–March 2, 2015. Diabetes while on treatment: 26/1,472 versus 46/738; time-to-onset hazard ratio 0.21 (95% CI 0.13–0.34). Analysis included randomized treated people with a post-baseline assessment. [1]
What this does not establish
Only 50% completed 160 weeks; withdrawn participants were not followed after discontinuation. This is neither proof of permanent prevention after stopping nor an independent trial from the earlier SCALE chapter. Sponsor: Novo Nordisk.
Original sources
Reviewed November 10, 2026. Original indexed abstract; full safety supplement unavailable in this review.
Subject One is fictional. Separate studies, species and populations are not a single patient’s experience. How to read the story