Semaglutide Use in Diabetes Doubles Risk of Irreversible Vision Loss, claims study

Results

Baseline Characteristics:

• Median age: 65 years.

• Median hemoglobin A1c: 50 mmol/mol.

• Men: 54.5%.

NAION Incidence:

• Total NAION cases: 218.

• Exposure group: Semaglutide exposure, 67 cases (median time from first prescription to NAION, 22.2 months; interquartile range, 10.2–37.8 months).

• Non-exposure group: 151 cases.

Incidence Rates:

• Semaglutide exposure: 0.228 per 1000 person-years.

• Non-exposure: 0.093 per 1000 person-years (p < 0.001).

Risk Assessment:

• After adjusting for multiple confounding factors, the use of semaglutide independently predicted a 2.19-fold higher risk of NAION (HR 2.19; 95% CI, 1.54–3.12).

This nationwide study found that semaglutide use in T2D patients more than doubled the risk of NAION. Given the severe and irreversible nature of this condition, these findings emphasize the importance of recognizing this risk in clinical practice and tailoring treatment plans accordingly.

Reference:

Grauslund, J., Taha, A. A., Molander, L. D., Kawasaki, R., Möller, S., Højlund, K., & Stokholm, L. (2024). Once-weekly semaglutide doubles the five-year risk of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in a Danish cohort of 424,152 persons with type 2 diabetes. International Journal of Retina and Vitreous, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40942-024-00620-x