NAION Eye Side Effect Risk Increased With Semaglutide Drugs - Two Recent Medical Studies
(Posted by Tom Lamb at Drug Injury Watch)
UPDATE: The [European Medicines Agency (EMA)] Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) reviewed all available data on NAION with semaglutide, including data from non-clinical studies, clinical trials, post-marketing surveillance and the medical literature. PRAC concluded that NAION is a very rare side effect of semaglutide, potentially affecting up to 1 in 10,000 users....
At its May 2025 meeting, the WHO Advisory Committee on Safety of Medicinal Products (ACSoMP) also evaluated the evidence and concluded that the Risk Management Plan for semaglutide should be revised to include NAION as a potential risk, including any required additional pharmacovigilance activities.
(6/30/25)
Two recent medical studies again link the eye side effect of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) to semaglutide drugs, providing us with more information about Ozempic vision problems. That is significant because this is still an emerging drug safety issue, which extends to Wegovy and Rybelsus insofar as their active ingredient is semaglutide.
Our first article concerning Ozempic vision problems, "Wegovy, Rybelsus, and Ozempic Eye Side Effects: Semaglutide Linked to NAION", was posted in July 2024. Our second article was posted several months later, "Novo Nordisk Semaglutide Drug Ozempic Linked to Vision Loss, Doubling the Risk: December 2024 Update".
In this third article about Ozempic vision problems, we will look at two of the most recent medical studies about semaglutide being associated with an increased risk of NAION. As a preview, the first study found that semaglutide was associated with a higher risk of NAION, having a hazard ratio of 2.19, while the second study "...confirms that use of semaglutide is associated to an increased risk of NAION but also that the excess absolute risk is low.”
The first study was reported in the medical journal International Journal of Retina and Vitreous, in this late 2024 article, "Once-weekly semaglutide doubles the five-year risk of nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in a Danish cohort of 424,152 persons with type 2 diabetes". From its Abstract we get this overview:
Background
Nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is an untreatable condition often causing severe and irreversible visual loss in the affected eye. As it has recently been implied that the use of semaglutide associates with NAION, the aim of the present study was to evaluate this risk prospectively in all persons with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Denmark.Conclusions
During five years of observation of all persons with T2D in Denmark, use of once-weekly semaglutide independently more than doubled the risk of NAION. Given the irreversible nature of NAION, it is important to acknowledge this risk, and upcoming studies should aim to identify high-risk subgroups.
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The report for that second study is in preprint form and not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal, to our knowledge, but was posted December 11, 2024, online at medRxiv, which calls itself "The Preprint Server for Health Sciences". From the Abstract for this piece, "Use of semaglutide and risk of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy: A Danish–Norwegian cohort study", we get the following:
Question Is there an association between semaglutide use and risk of non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION)?
Findings In this cohort study conducted in Denmark and Norway, use of semaglutide was associated with an increased risk of NAION; the pooled hazard ratio was 2.81 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.67 to 4.75) and the incidence rate difference (absolute risk increase) was +1.41 (95% CI +0.53 to +2.29) NAION events per 10,000 person-years. The finding was consistent across sensitivity and supplementary analysis.
The Brigham and Women's Hospital website provides some basic medical information about non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION).
We are investigating drug injury lawsuits seeking legal compensation for people who received a diagnosis of NAION (non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy) while using one of Novo Nordisk's semaglutide drugs, Ozempic, Wegovy, or Rybelsus.
People diagnosed with NAION often experience some degree of permanent vision impairment, which can be life-altering. We encourage you to complete our online Case Evaluation Form so that we can assist you or someone you know with a possible lawsuit involving Rybelsus, Wegovy, or Ozempic vision problems. This service is free and confidential, and there is no obligation. We will reply to you no later than the next business day. Or you can call our toll-free number, (800) 426-9535, to speak directly to attorney Tom Lamb about a possible Ozempic, Wegovy, or Rybelsus drug injury lawsuit.
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