Association of GLP1 ‐Receptor Agonists With Diabetic Retinopathy
Authors' conclusion
GLP1-RA use was associated with a modest increase in risk of diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy-related procedures, independent of the presence of retinopathy at baseline. However, GLP1-RA use was not associated with vision impairment or blindness, although administrative codes notably have low validity for blindness diagnosis.
Study context
- Population
- New users of GLP-1 RA or DPP-4i with diabetes (2006–2021); separate matched CKD cohort98,082 matched pairs
- Exposure
- GLP-1 RA vs DPP-4i
- Outcome
- Non-vision-threatening DR (NVTDR); vision-threatening DR and DME (VTDR/DME); NAION
Methodological detailspropensity-score matched, new-user design, active comparator
- Propensity-score matched
- New-user design
- Active comparator
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Primary outcomes: NVTDR, VTDR/DME and NAION (overall cohort)
GLP1-RA
- Non-vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy (NVTDR)
- 11.05%
- VTDR/DME
- 2.17%
DPP4i
- NVTDR
- 9.98%
- VTDR/DME
- 1.98%
Non-vision-threatening diabetic retinopathy (NVTDR)
GLP1-RA11.05%
DPP4i9.98%
VTDR/DME
GLP1-RA2.17%
DPP4i1.98%
GLP1-RA vs DPP4iOdds ratio (95% CI)
NVTDR
1.12(1.09–1.15)
VTDR/DME
1.09(1.03–1.16)
- No significant difference in risk of NAION
- OR 1.11, 95% CI: 0.96-1.29
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
| Outcome | GLP1-RA | DPP4i | OR (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retinopathy procedures (overall cohort) | 4.16% | 3.68% | 1.14 (1.09–1.19) | |
| CKD cohort (15 440 matched pairs)NVTDR | 1.10 (1.03–1.18) | |||
| CKD cohort (15 440 matched pairs)Retinopathy procedures | 1.14 (1.03–1.26) | |||
| 0.512Odds ratio (log scale) |
Vision impairment or blindness (overall cohort)
- No significant difference in risk of vision impairment or blindness
- OR 1.04, 95% CI: 0.97-1.11
CKD cohort (15 440 matched pairs)
- GLP1-RA not associated with other outcomes in CKD cohort
Parts of this Brief are withheld: the automatic checks could not confirm them against the abstract.
Original publication
Association of GLP1 ‐Receptor Agonists With Diabetic Retinopathy. Diabetes Obes Metab. Published 27 August 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →