FRIDAY, Feb. 20, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with diabetes and overweight or obesity, tirzepatide use is associated with a lower incidence of new or progressive diabetic retinopathy (DR) and fewer complications, according to a study published online Jan. 21 in Ophthalmology.
Jaffer Shah, from Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, and colleagues compared the risk for DR diagnoses, progression, and need for ocular interventions between patients with diabetes and overweight or obesity using tirzepatide and matched patients receiving lifestyle intervention alone in a population-based, retrospective cohort study. The analysis included 173,846 patients (86,923 per cohort) after propensity score matching for demographic, metabolic, and systemic covariates.
The researchers found that compared with the lifestyle intervention alone cohort, tirzepatide use was associated with a reduced 12-month risk for DR incidence and worsening events, including incident mild nonproliferative DR, proliferative DR, DR with macular edema, vitreous hemorrhage, tractional retinal detachment, intravitreal antivascular endothelial growth factor injection, and pan-retinal photocoagulation (risk ratios, 0.864, 0.705, 0.624, 0.607, 0.370, 0.479, and 0.610, respectively).
"Our study and others suggest that medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide may not affect diabetic retinopathy in the same way," Shah said in a statement. "Understanding the differences in broader metabolic changes, including the potential effects on the retinal microvasculature, is exciting because this could ultimately help guide treatment choices while keeping long-term eye health in mind."