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Paper

Ischemic optic neuropathy with semaglutide: global observational analysis of sex- and formulation-specific risk.

New research · Ophthalmology

The British journal of ophthalmology · 1mo

ObservationalThe British journal of ophthalmology· Jun 2026

Ischemic optic neuropathy with semaglutide: global observational analysis of sex- and formulation-specific risk.

Moiz Lakhani, Abdullah Al-Ani, Marko Popovic … Edward Margolin

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Neuro-ophthalmologyObservationalClinical practiceQ1IF 5.2

Wegovy is associated with nearly 5-fold higher odds of ischemic optic neuropathy than Ozempic.

Ischemic optic neuropathy with semaglutide: global observational analysis of sex- and formulation-specific risk.

Moiz Lakhani … Edward Margolin

The British journal of ophthalmology · Jun 2026 · Q1 in Ophthalmology

Background

Ischaemic optic neuropathy (ischaemic optic neuropathy) is a rare but vision-threatening complication recently linked to GLP-1 receptor agonists, particularly semaglutide.

Methods

Using over 30 million reports from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (2017-2024), we evaluated formulation- and sex-specific associations.

n = 31 774

AOR 4.74

Results

AOR 4.74

Odds of ischemic optic neuropathy were nearly 5 times higher with Wegovy than Ozempic.

n = 31 774

More results

Among 31 774 semaglutide cases, Wegovy demonstrated the strongest signal for ischaemic optic neuropathy (reporting odds ratio (reporting odds ratio)=74.89) compared with Ozempic (reporting odds ratio=18.81).

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Conclusion

These findings highlight a potential dose-dependent safety concern that warrants urgent prospective evaluation to guide prescribing and regulatory policy.

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