Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs have forever altered the way people view, manage, and speak about obesity. However, it’s important to remember that Ozempic has actually been around for quite some time as a treatment for adults with type 2 diabetes. But now that it’s become more mainstream (and is being taken off-label for weight loss), studies about the drug’s side effects are being published at an alarming rate. For instance, a comorbidity that was once considered rare is now more common.
RELATED: Ozempic and Wegovy May Have Landed 25,000 People in the ER—Here's the Scary Reason Why.
GLP-1 drugs can lead to an increased risk of permanent vision loss.
Patients who use GLP1 drugs to help control their type 2 diabetes are at an upward risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, according to new research published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology. Moreover, their odds increase over time with continued use of Ozempic and similar drugs.
It’s estimated that age-related macular degeneration affects 11 million Americans, per MedlinePlus. "The vision loss in this condition results from a gradual deterioration of light-sensing cells in the tissue at the back of the eye that detects light and color (the retina)," explains the U.S. National Library of Medicine-backed website. "Specifically, age-related macular degeneration affects a small area near the center of the retina, called the macula, which is responsible for central vision."
The study looked at 46,334 patients who took GLP1-drugs (primarily semaglutide, the active ingredient found in Ozempic and Wegovy) for at least six months. Researchers compared their health stats against patients who weren’t prescribed Ozempic. (Reasons varied, but had to do with age, gender, diabetes severity, and comorbidities.)
Over a three-year follow-up period, researchers tallied how many patients from each cohort were diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration.
The result? Patients on Ozempic had a "two-fold higher risk" of age-related macular degeneration, compared to their peers who didn’t use the drug. The press release states additional research is needed "to elucidate the exact pathophysiological mechanisms involved."
RELATED: Patients Reveal Another "Nightmare" Ozempic Side Effect.
Previous studies (and real patients) have also blamed Ozempic for vision loss.
This isn’t the first study to explore the connection between GLP-1 drugs and vision loss. Researchers and real-life patients have voiced concerns about the matter.
As Best Life reported, "A previous study published in 2024 found that people using semaglutide are four times more likely to develop a rare but scary eye condition called nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION for short."
This year, researcher and ophthalmologist Bradley Katz, PhD, discovered that both semaglutide and tirzepatide (the active ingredient in Zepbound and Mounjaro) can lead to NAION, as well as papillitis (inflammation of the optic nerve) and paracentral acute middle maculopathy (impacting your eyes’ blood vessels). His findings were published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.
Todd Engel, a 62-year-old man living in Maryland, is one of many patients who have experienced vision loss due to Ozempic. It began shortly after Engel was prescribed the drug to help treat his type 2 diabetes. Within four months, Engel had been diagnosed with NAION and became blind in both eyes.
He and several others have filed lawsuits against Novo Nordisk (the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy), claiming the pharmaceutical company didn’t include vision loss as one of the drug’s potential side effects.
"People are just waking up and developing this [vision] condition," Jason Goldstein, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, told Newsday. "They wake, and they totally can't see. A lot of them lose their peripheral vision. They could lose total vision. I have one client who lost it in both eyes."
RELATED: Why Up to 75% of People on Weight-Loss Drugs Stop Taking Them, Cardiologist Says.
The takeaway:
Research shows that long-term usage of GLP-1 drugs, like Ozempic, can increase patients' odds of developing age-related macular degeneration, which, in many cases, can result in total blindness.
"GLP-1 RAs have had a tremendous role in the care of patients with diabetes, and now those needing additional help with weight management. However, the adage that 'there is no such thing as a free lunch' remains true," Brian L. VanderBeek, MD, from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine’s Scheie Eye Institute, wrote in an accompanying editorial.
VanderBeek noted that this shouldn’t necessarily deter people from taking Ozempic, but rather spark an ongoing conversation between doctors and their patients about potential, less common side effects. "While certainly not outweighing the good these medications offer, prescribing physicians need to keep in mind the real and serious ocular adverse events that may occur," he concluded.
