Semaglutide and diabetic retinopathy: an OHDSI network study

Plain-language guide to PMID 41192935 (2025): observational study of Semaglutide, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.

Key Facts

PMID: 41192935
Journal: BMJ open diabetes research & care
Year: 2025
Study type: Observational Study
Authors: Cai CX et al. (48 authors)
DOI: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2025-005424

What This Study Did, in Plain Language

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Semaglutide in the context of diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma, published as an observational study.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether an association exists between semaglutide and PDR and treatment-requiring DR/DME.

Why It Was Studied

Semaglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), has potential associations with higher rates of diabetic retinopathy (DR) complications including proliferative DR (PDR) and diabetic macular edema (DME).

Who Took Part

The age groups tagged for this paper are middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

Adults with T2D on semaglutide, other GLP-1RA (dulaglutide, exenatide), or non-GLP-1RA medications (empagliflozin, sitagliptin, glipizide) from 1 December 2017 to 31 December 2023 were included.

The association between semaglutide and PDR or treatment-requiring DR/DME was assessed using an active-comparator cohort design comparing new users of semaglutide as second-line T2D treatment to those on other GLP-1RAs and non-GLP-1RAs.

How the Study Was Run

This was a retrospective cohort study of 14 databases (six administrative claims and eight electronic health records) in the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics Evidence Network.

Network-wide HR estimates were generated using a random-effects meta-analysis.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Diabetic Retinopathy, Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists, Glucagon-Like Peptides, Hypoglycemic Agents, Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 and Semaglutide.

Author keywords: Diabetes Complications.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is an observational study of Semaglutide in people with diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.

Its findings take up roughly 5 sentences of the abstract and are left out here on purpose; the source paper is the place to read them.

The publication is from 2025 (BMJ open diabetes research & care), a journal based in England.

More context: the Semaglutide compound page, Diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma research.

Our Notes on the Compound

Semaglutide: The active ingredient in several prescription GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines (Ozempic, Wegovy, oral tablets).

Source: PubMed record. This explanation is written by PeptideWhiz from the public record. For research and education only. Not medical advice; no dosing information is given.