Assessing Semaglutide's Safety Profile Reveals Low Risk of NAION: Study

The study published in the Journal of The Association of Physicians of India indicated that NAION is not a known adverse drug reaction of semaglutide and the confirmed absolute risk of developing NAION from using semaglutide is probably very low.

Nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is a condition characterized by sudden vision loss caused by reduced blood flow to the optic nerve which results in painless vision loss in one eye, which can be partial or complete and may occur upon waking.

In a recent stride to find out the association of semaglutide with NAION due to its previous link to diabetic retinopathy and increase public awareness, Awadhesh Kumar Singh, Consultant Endocrinologist, Department of Diabetes & Endocrinology, G. D. Hospital & Diabetes Institute, Kolkata, West Bengal, India, and colleagues, conducted a retrospective cohort study where they utilized a centralized clinical data registry comprising patients with no prior NAION events. Semaglutide users were identified through prescribing and dispensing data.

The study reveals the following findings:

• A propensity-matched analysis in the type 2 diabetes (T2D) cohort showed an increased risk of NAION in patients treated with semaglutide (HR, 4.28).
• Likewise, in the obesity cohort, patients prescribed semaglutide had a higher risk of NAION(HR, 7.64)
• These findings indicate an increased absolute risk of NAION by 7.5% in individuals with type 2 diabetes and by 7.0% in those with obesity.

“The overall data offer reassurance about the safety profile of semaglutide and also it is currently being evaluated in the FOCUS trial to determine its long-term impact on diabetic retinopathy in patients with type 2 diabetes,” said the researchers.

Reference: Singh AK, Kesavadev J, Tiwaskar M. Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy and Semaglutide: What is This All About? J Assoc Physicians India 2024;72(8):11-12.