SynthesisFrontiers in medicine2025
Association of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and diabetic retinopathy (DR) - a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Assessing the risk of diabetic retinopathy progression with GLP-1 receptor agonists: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC ophthalmology · 2026Pooled it
- Racial and microvascular determinants of progression to treatment-warranted diabetic eye disease.Eye (London, England) · 2026Article
- HbA1c kinetics as a prognostic marker of ophthalmic risk in GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy.Metabolism open · 2026Review
- Beyond Glycemic Control: Ocular Effects of Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists.Vision (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Retinal Outcomes in Diabetes: Antihyperglycemic Therapy, EWDR, and Perioperative Considerations.Biomedicines · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objectives: Previous studies have shown conflicting results on the relationship between glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and diabetic retinopathy (DR). This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to clarify the association between GLP-1 receptor agonists use and the development or progression of DR. Methods: A comprehensive search of MEDLINE (via OVID and PubMed), Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and ClinicalTrials.gov was conducted from inception to March 2025. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies reporting on the association between GLP-1 receptor agonists and DR. Screening, data extraction, and quality appraisal were performed independently and in duplicate. We assessed study quality using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for RCTs and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for observational studies. Meta-analysis was conducted using Stata 17, following PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines. Results: The search identified 6,922 studies. Of these, 39 articles (24 RCTs and 15 observational studies) met the inclusion criteria and 23 were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled analysis showed that GLP-1 receptor agonists were not significantly associated with the risk of DR compared with comparators (pooled RR = 1.00, 95% CI 0.71-1.43). Subgroup analyses by study design yielded similar non-significant results, with a pooled RR of 0.91 (95% CI 0.73-1.14) for randomized controlled trials and 2.09 (95% CI 0.47-9.19) for observational studies. After excluding studies with a high risk of bias, the pooled estimate remained non-significant (RR = 1.06, 95% CI 0.67-1.67), supporting the robustness of the overall findings. The association remained non-significant when restricted to larger studies (>500 participants; RR = 1.13, 95% CI 0.70-1.84). Conclusion: In conclusions, this systematic review found no significant association between GLP-1 receptor agonists and DR risk, though a non-significant trend toward lower risk was observed in randomized trials. Given the limited number of long-term studies, the current evidence remains inconclusive. Future studies with longer follow-up period are warranted to clarify the long-term ocular safety of GLP-1 receptor agonists. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251007882.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.