Fenofibrate and diabetic retinopathy: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Pooled result · Composite of DR progression or need for retinal treatmentResult — go to the resultOdds ratio 0.67 95% CI 0.56–0.81Authors' conclusion
Fenofibrate reduces the composite of DR progression or need for retinal treatment over up to five years of follow-up, without a demonstrated effect on moderate vision loss.
Study context
- Population
- Adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in randomized trials comparing oral fenofibrate with placebo with at least two years of follow-upparticipants in four included trials, three trials (3,756) contributed to the primary outcome · Trials contributing to the primary outcome 3,756
- Participants
- 20,655 adults
- Comparison
- Oral fenofibrate with placebo
- Outcome
- Composite of:
- Diabetic retinopathy (DR) progression
- Need for retinal treatment
Methodological detailsrandom-effects models
- Random-effects models
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Odds ratio
0.67
95% CI 0.56–0.81
Fenofibratevs Placebo
OR 0.67 (95% CI 0.56–0.81)
Further pooled results
| Outcome | OR (CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| Incident macular edemaI2 = 0% | 0.47 (0.29–0.76) | |
| Need for retinal laserI2 = 7% | 0.75 (0.65–0.87) | |
| DR progression on imagingI2 = 0% | 0.72 (0.58–0.89) | |
| DR progression using FIELD one-step progressionNot reduced | 0.80 (0.60–1.07) | |
| Moderate vision lossI2 = 0%; did not differ | 0.99 (0.83–1.18) | |
| All-cause mortalityI2 = 26%; did not differ | 1.01 (0.87–1.17) | |
| 0.20.5125Odds ratio (log scale) |
Subgroup analyses by diabetes type and baseline retinopathy
- Subgroup analyses by diabetes type and baseline retinopathy were underpowered
Original publication
Fenofibrate and diabetic retinopathy: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. Published 14 November 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →