Study Finds Small Rise in Rare Eye Condition Among GLP-1 Diabetes Drug Users

Newsweek reported that adults with type 2 diabetes who began taking GLP-1 receptor agonists showed an 18-month risk of ischemic optic neuropathy of 8.5 cases per 10,000 people, compared with 5.5 cases per 10,000 among those taking SGLT2 inhibitors. When measured against DPP4 inhibitors, the risk stood at 7.8 cases per 10,000 for GLP-1 users versus 4.2 cases per 10,000 for the comparison group.

The study, conducted by researchers at Rutgers University and published in Annals of Internal Medicine under the title "Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists and Risk for Ischemic Optic Neuropathy," examined health insurance records of adults aged 18 to 65 from 2017 through 2022.

It applied target trial emulation to track patients starting GLP-1 drugs against those starting the other two classes of medication. Dr. Chintan Dave, a core faculty member at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research, said the absolute increase remained small.

"The potential increase was small—fewer than one additional case per 2,000 GLP-1RA users, while these medications have very well-established benefits for diabetes, obesity, and heart and kidney health. For most patients, those benefits are likely to outweigh this rare risk," he told Newsweek. Consultant ophthalmic surgeon Mr.

Mfazo Hove advised patients on GLP-1 medications to treat any sudden vision change as an emergency. He listed symptoms including painless vision loss or blurring in one eye, dimming, altered color perception, or missing areas in the visual field. The researchers noted that the findings show association only and that more than three-quarters of ischemic optic neuropathy cases fall into the non-arteritic anterior category, which often leaves permanent vision deficits.