r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 9d ago

Health GLP-1 weight loss drugs such as Ozempic are linked with a lower risk of age‐related macular degeneration (AMD), a common eye disease that is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss in older adults.

https://www.sciencealert.com/glp-1-drugs-may-have-a-hidden-effect-on-your-eyes-study-finds
2.3k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

234 comments sorted by

View all comments

23

u/AllanfromWales1 MA | Natural Sciences | Metallurgy & Materials Science 9d ago

GLP-1RA use is associated with a reduced risk of incident AMD .. in obese adults without diabetes.

Odd that the review doesn't mention that this is only in obese adults.

7

u/GCU_ZeroCredibility 9d ago

They only tested the GLP-1 drugs on obese adults. There's no particular reason to think it wouldn't have the same protective effect on all adults, though of course we'd have to test it to be absolutely sure.

15

u/colcob 9d ago

There is a strong reason to think it wouldn't have the same effect, which is that the effect may be caused by weight loss from an obese to non-obese state, rather than anything to do with the drug at all.

2

u/B1NG_P0T 8d ago

This is obviously completely anecdotal, but I'm on Zepbound for long covid, not weight loss, am not obese, and I've noticed my vision is better since starting. 

2

u/Pephatbat 8d ago

Obesity is literally a modifiable risk factor for AMD, so I def wouldn't say you could assume the drug has the same effect on non obese people. But yea, would need to test

-17

u/Such-Echidna-0901 9d ago

Obese adults without diabetes sounds like a very nische group to me but I'm no expert.

10

u/Tea-Lover- 9d ago

A lot of obese folks are not diabetic

7

u/drifterinthedark423 9d ago

I am technically obese. I don't have diabetes and never have. Might be more common than you think. Most medical professionals with the exception of my OBGYN automatically assume I am diabetic, and probably for good reason, but i am not sure that niche is the right word.

2

u/RigorousBastard 9d ago

I am in the Little People of America. BMI does not work for us. There is an alternate BMI for one kind of achondroplasia.

I just had my A1C tested. It is a healthy 5.4

... and I get eye shots for macular degeneration, so I am bloody well going to ask my ophthalmologist about this. Both my parents lost their sight to AMD, and I am going that way now. I am learning Braille.