Association between Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists and the Risk of Glaucoma in Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes.

PURPOSE: To examine the association between Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1RA) use and the development of glaucoma in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

DESIGN: Nationwide, nested case-control study.

PARTICIPANTS: From a nationwide cohort of 264708 individuals, we identified 1,737 incident glaucoma cases and matched them to 8685 glaucoma-free controls, all aged above 21 years old and treated with metformin and a second-line antihyperglycemic drug formulation, with no history of glaucoma, eye trauma or eye surgery.

METHODS: Cases were incidence density matched to five controls by birth year, sex, and date of second-line treatment initiation.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for glaucoma, defined by first-time diagnosis, first-time use of glaucoma-specific medication, or first-time glaucoma-specific surgical intervention.

RESULTS: Compared with the reference group, who received treatments other than GLP-1RA, individuals who were exposed to GLP-1RA treatment exhibited a lower risk of incident glaucoma (HR: 0.81, CI: 0.70 - 0.94, p = 0.006). Prolonged treatment extending beyond three years lowered the risk even further (HR: 0.71, CI: 0.55 - 0.91, p = 0.007). Treatment with GLP-1RA for 0 - 1 years (HR: 0.89, CI: 0.70 - 1.14, p = 0.35) and 1 - 3 years (HR: 0.85, CI: 0.67 - 1.06, p = 0.15) were not significant.

CONCLUSIONS: GLP-1RA exposure was associated with a lower risk of developing glaucoma compared to receiving other second-line antihyperglycemic medication.