Study links tirzepatide use to lower diabetic retinopathy risk
A study in Ophthalmology found tirzepatide use was associated with lower 12-month risk of new or progressive diabetic retinopathy versus lifestyle intervention alone. The analysis included about 174,000 matched patients.
Tirzepatide use was associated with a lower incidence of new or progressive diabetic retinopathy and fewer complications in patients with diabetes and overweight or obesity, according to a study published online Jan. 21 in Ophthalmology. After one year of treatment, patients taking tirzepatide had a lower risk of worsening diabetic retinopathy or related complications than matched patients receiving lifestyle intervention alone.
The population-based, retrospective cohort study compared the risk for diabetic retinopathy diagnoses, progression and need for ocular interventions between patients using tirzepatide and matched patients receiving lifestyle intervention alone. The analysis included 173,846 patients, or 86,923 per cohort, after propensity score matching for demographic, metabolic and systemic covariates.
Compared with the lifestyle intervention alone cohort, tirzepatide use was associated with a reduced 12-month risk for diabetic retinopathy incidence and worsening events, including incident mild nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, diabetic retinopathy with macular edema, vitreous hemorrhage, tractional retinal detachment, intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injection and pan-retinal photocoagulation. The reported risk ratios were 0.864, 0.705, 0.624, 0.607, 0.370, 0.479 and 0.610, respectively.
Researchers analyzed electronic health records from about 174,000 people across 70 health systems in the United States. They focused on participants with type 2 diabetes with weight management issues, comparing people who started tirzepatide with similar patients who pursued only lifestyle interventions such as nutrition therapy or exercise counseling.
As one example, incident mild non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy occurred in 0.49% of tirzepatide patients compared with 1.2% of the lifestyle intervention group. The researchers said people with type 2 diabetes were less likely to develop new diabetic retinopathy or progress to more dangerous stages of the disease while taking tirzepatide medications.
The study noted previous research indicating that semaglutide medications could worsen diabetic retinopathy and associated conditions, with some temporary deterioration reported in people with type 2 diabetes. That research reported the effects were short-term and that there was no long-term association between semaglutide and increased progression of diabetic retinopathy during a three-year period.