CureusMar 13, 2026

Possible Benefits and Risks of Diabetes Drugs on Eye Diseases

GLP-1 Therapies Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Updated Mar 16, 2026

Abstract

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) may be associated with several ocular pathologies.

GLP-1RAs mimic the action of the GLP-1 hormone and are used to manage type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Potential ocular pathologies linked to GLP-1RAs include retinal vascular occlusion, vitreous hemorrhage, diabetic retinopathy, non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy, and diabetic macular edema.
There may be beneficial effects of GLP-1RAs on glaucoma and idiopathic intracranial hypertension.
Harmful ocular effects could be related to retinal microvascular dysregulation, inflammation, oxidative stress, and osmotic dysregulation from sorbitol accumulation.
Personalized ophthalmological screenings may help mitigate the risks of disease exacerbation in patients using GLP-1RAs.

Simplified

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) are incretin-based agents used in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. This class of medications mimics the action of the endogenous GLP-1 hormone, enhances insulin secretion, delays gastric emptying, causes early satiety, lowers systemic glycemic levels, and results in weight loss. There are emerging concerns about the use of GLP-1RAs, which may be an observational association with ocular pathologies, including retinal vascular occlusion (RVO), vitreous hemorrhage (VH), diabetic retinopathy (DR), non-arteritic ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), and diabetic macular edema (DME). In contrast, there are beneficial impacts of GLP-1RAs on various conditions, including glaucoma and idiopathic intracranial hypertension. This narrative review aims to analyze current findings on the beneficial and adverse ocular effects of GLP-1RAs use, highlighting studies that elucidate the harmful causes, such as retinal microvascular dysregulation, inflammatory modulation, oxidative stress, osmotic dysregulation from sorbitol accumulation, and metabolic shifts. The literature search was conducted using PubMed, Elsevier, Embase, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Science Direct to retrieve relevant literature published in peer-reviewed journals from 2014 to 2025. Understanding the benefits and risks of GLP-1RAs in ophthalmology is crucial for clinicians to manage ocular conditions safely while a patient is using GLP-1RAs, and enables personalized ophthalmological screenings to minimize the risk of disease exacerbation.

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Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

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Possible Benefits and Risks of Diabetes Drugs on Eye Diseases

Abstract

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Funding

Competing interests

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