A large study by Rutgers researchers has identified a possible vision risk associated with widely used diabetes and weight loss medications, including Ozempic and Wegovy. The findings suggest that people taking these medications may face a slightly higher risk of developing a rare eye disease that can lead to sudden and potentially permanent vision loss.
This condition, known as ischemic optic neuropathy, occurs when blood flow to the optic nerve is reduced. Because the optic nerve carries visual information from the eye to the brain, its damage can lead to significant vision problems.
Study links GLP-1 drugs to rare vision loss
The study, published in Annals of Internal Medicineanalyzed information from a large database of U.S. adults ages 18 to 65 with type 2 diabetes. The researchers focused on patients who had recently started taking medications to manage their condition, including a class of medications called glucagon-like peptide-1, or GLP-1, receptor agonists.
These drugs include semaglutide (sold under the names Ozempic and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (sold under the names Mounjaro and Zepbound). In addition to helping control blood sugar and manage weight, GLP-1 medications may reduce the risk of certain cardiovascular and kidney problems. However, scientists are still studying their potential side effects as their use becomes more widespread.
Researchers found that GLP-1 use was associated with a slight increase in the risk of ischemic optic neuropathy. Although this pathology is rare, its potential consequences make this discovery important.
“Although ischemic optic neuropathy is rare, it is clinically important because it can involve sudden vision loss,” said Chintan Dave, senior faculty member in the Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Treatment Science at the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research. “The increase in risk was small – about three to four additional cases per 10,000 patients treated with GLP-1 over 18 months, but clinicians and patients should be aware of this potential association.”
Although the absolute risk remains low, researchers say the growing popularity of GLP-1 drugs makes continued monitoring of their safety particularly important. These medications are now widely prescribed to people with and without type 2 diabetes.
Who may be most at risk?
The study also identified trends among patients who developed this eye disease. Cases were more common in men and adults in the older part of the study population.
“Most of the patients in our study with ischemic optic neuropathy were either men or both men and women between the ages of 50 and 65,” said Dave, an associate professor at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy and senior author of the study. “Since ischemic optic neuropathy can present with sudden loss of vision, which may be permanent, early recognition of symptoms and prompt ophthalmologic evaluation may be particularly important for patients at higher initial risk.”
It is estimated that more than 80% of cases of ischemic optic neuropathy involve the nonarteritic anterior form of the disease. This occurs when the blood supply to the front of the optic nerve becomes insufficient, which can damage the nerve and interfere with vision.
The resulting loss of vision is often permanent. According to Dave, about a third of affected patients experience some recovery, usually within the first six months. Even when improvement occurs, some degree of visual impairment usually persists.
Rather than causing complete blindness, the disease usually affects part of the vision in one eye. Patients may notice sudden blurring, dimming, or missing areas in their field of vision.
Do weight loss medications actually cause vision loss?
Despite this association, the researchers caution that their results do not establish that GLP-1 drugs directly cause optic nerve damage.
Other factors, including differences in patients’ underlying health conditions, could help explain the increased risk observed in the study. Further research will be needed to determine whether the drugs themselves contribute to the disease.
For now, the findings highlight the importance of recognizing sudden vision changes and seeking prompt medical evaluation, especially in people who are already at greater risk.
The research team also included Kamika Reynolds and Kimberly O’Malley of the Institute for Health, as well as Jason Roy of the Rutgers School of Public Health.
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