People with diabetes who were taking GLP-1 drugs had a low but elevated risk of an age-related eye disease that can sometimes lead to blindness, a new observational study concludes, adding to a short list of concerns about eye health in people taking the powerful medications.
The research, published Thursday in JAMA Ophthalmology, found that after one year, more than twice as many people on GLP-1 drugs developed neovascular age-related macular degeneration compared to similar people who were not taking the drugs. The risk was 0.2% in people taking GLP-1s and 0.1% in those who didn’t. Participants, drawn from health records of nearly 140,000 patients in Canada, were matched for socioeconomic status and a long list of conditions in addition to diabetes.
AMD is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in older people; the study participants were 66 years old, on average. Neovascular AMD (nAMD) is an advanced form of the disease, known for its abnormal growth of blood vessels and damage to the central part of the retina called the macula. It can be treated with frequent injections to potentially restore or stabilize vision.
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