GLP-1RA prevents glaucoma development in T2D patients

Use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) among patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) appears to have protective benefits against the development of glaucoma compared with exposure to other second-line antihyperglycaemic medications, according to a study.

This case-control study used a nationwide cohort of 264,708 individuals, of whom 1,737 had incident glaucoma. The investigators then matched these patients to 8,685 individuals without glaucoma, all aged >21 years and treated with metformin and a second-line antihyperglycaemic drug formulation, with no history of glaucoma, eye trauma, or eye surgery.

Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95 percent confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using conditional logistic regression. Glaucoma was defined by first-time diagnosis, first-time use of glaucoma-specific medication, or first-time glaucoma-specific surgical intervention.

Patients treated with GLP-1RA had a lower risk of incident glaucoma (HR, 0.81, 95 percent CI, 0.70‒0.94; p=0.006) than those who received treatments other than GLP-1RA. Moreover, longer treatment extending beyond 3 years led to a much lower risk (HR, 0.71, 95 percent CI, 0.55‒0.91; p=0.007).

On the other hand, exposure to GLP-1RA for 0 to 1 year (HR, 0.89, 95 percent CI, 0.70‒1.14; p=0.35) and 1 to 3 years (HR, 0.85, 95 percent CI, 0.67‒1.06; p=0.15) did not reach significance.

“Exposure to GLP-1RA was associated with a lower risk of developing glaucoma compared with receiving other second-line antihyperglycaemic medication,” the investigators said.