Semaglutide Use Not That Impactful Against Neovascular AMD

Semaglutide is not associated with a large increased risk nor a decreased risk of neovascular AMD, at least among patients with type 2 diabetes. This finding contradicts some of the previously published studies in this area. Photo: Novo Nordisk. Click image to enlarge. Recent literature has emerged suggesting an association between semaglutide use and an increased risk of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). However, a recent retrospective study published in Ophthalmology found that, across 12 diverse databases in the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics network, no substantial change in the risk of neovascular AMD associated with semaglutide use among adults with type 2 diabetes, either when compared with other GLP-1 drugs or other non-GLP treatment options.This retrospective study across 12 databases in the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) network over a seven-year period included data on adults with type 2 diabetes on semaglutide, other GLP-1 drugs (dulaglutide, exenatide) or non-GLP-1 drugs (empagliflozin, sitagliptin, glipizide). A total of 227,971 new users of semaglutide were included.Two definitions of neovascular AMD were created to test the robustness of our findings to outcome misspecification. One was defined using condition codes alone (i.e., a diagnosis) among patients over 55 years of age, excluding those with other retinal diagnoses such as macular edema or retinal vein occlusion. The other added the requirement of a procedure, specifically an intravitreal injection with an anti-VEGF medication, within 30 days of the neovascular AMD diagnosis to increase the likelihood of identifying active disease.The risk of neovascular AMD among semaglutide users was similar to users of dulaglutide (condition codes alone, hazard ratio [HR]: 0.57; codes and procedures, HR: 0.25), empagliflozin (condition codes alone, HR: 0.98; codes and procedures, HR: 0.79), sitagliptin (condition codes alone, HR: 2.08; codes and procedures, HR: 1.80) and glipizide (condition codes alone, HR 0.83; codes and procedures, HR: 0.50).There was no evidence of increased or decreased risk for neovascular AMD associated with semaglutide exposure (condition codes alone, incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 0.92; codes and procedures, IRR: 1.02) nor any of the other GLP-1 drugs or non-GLP-1 treatment options.“Our findings do not refute a small effect in either direction, including prior studies that have found a small positive association,” the study authors wrote in their paper. “This study provides evidence against large differences in the risk of neovascular AMD associated with semaglutide use among patients with type 2 diabetes.”Click here for the journal source. Cai CX, Toy B, Martin B, et al. Semaglutide and neovascular age-related macular degeneration among adults with type 2 diabetes: an OHDSI Network Study. Ophthalmology. June 1, 2026. [Epub ahead of print].  This article was developed by the editorial staff in conjunction with experts in the field. In the process, AI may have been among the editorial tools used to meet the goals of human editors, who approved all content.