Non-arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy (NAION) Semaglutide Study 2026 Data Analysis

(Posted by Tom Lamb at Drug Injury Watch)

A March 2026 British Journal of Ophthalmology medical journal article, “Ischemic optic neuropathy with semaglutide: global observational analysis of sex- and formulation-specific risk“, provided some interesting new information about the Wegovy and Ozempic vision loss side effect that we have been covering since July 2024. It presented these two findings from the non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) semaglutide study 2026 data analysis that differentiated between Wegovy and Ozempic as well as men and women: (1) a NAION Wegovy rate 5x higher than the NAION Ozempic rate of incidence for this vision loss side effect; and, (2) the NAION incidence rate for these two semaglutide drugs was 3x higher in men than in women.

For some details about and context for this 2026 data analysis for the Wegovy and Ozempic vision loss side effect NAION, we present some excerpts from a March 10, 2026, MedPage Today news article, “Wegovy May Carry Highest Risk of Blinding Condition Among GLP-1 Drugs“, that reported on this recent NAION semaglutide study.

The obesity drug semaglutide (Wegovy) conferred a significantly higher risk of ischemic optic neuropathy (ION) than any other GLP-1 agonist, including semaglutide for diabetes (Ozempic), an analysis of FDA data showed.

In a review of 31,774 semaglutide-related reports in the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), researchers found that Wegovy was associated with a nearly fivefold higher risk of ION versus Ozempic, with an adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of 4.74 (95% CI 2.54-8.77). Men had a threefold higher ION risk versus women (aOR 3.33, 95% CI 1.89-5.88).

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The reporting odds ratio (ROR) for any semaglutide product was 21.4 (95% CI 17.40-26.65), was 18.8 (95% CI 14.11-25.07) for Ozempic, and reached 74.9 (95% CI 51.79-108.29) with Wegovy. A sex-stratified analysis showed the highest ION signal for Wegovy in men (ROR 116.37) and for Ozempic in women (ROR 26.86).

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Vision recovery after ION, sometimes called an eye stroke or optic nerve stroke, is variable, she added. Overall, about 40% of patients have some degree of recovery of central visual acuity. However, peripheral vision loss may not improve.

“Even in the 40% of patients who have some spontaneous recovery, it never returns to 100% of where they were before,” said [said Rudrani Banik, MD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City].

Several recent studies have identified an association between semaglutide and ION, with severe vision loss in as many as 15% of cases and complete blindness in as many as 5%….

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Additional details and context can be found in these two other news reports about this recent British Journal of Ophthalmology medical journal article with 2026 data analysis for Wegovy and Ozempic vision loss side effects:

• “Wegovy linked to higher risk of eye stroke and vision loss“, BMJ Group, 3/10/2026
• “Wegovy users have five times greater risk of sudden sight loss than Ozempic users, study finds“, The Guardian, 3/10/2026

And in this February 13, 2026 Drug Injury Watch post, “Risk of NAION With Semaglutide Medicines is 2 Times Higher Than SGLT2i Diabetes Drugs“, we wrote about a new study that found the risk of Wegovy and Ozempic vision loss due to NAION is 2x higher than that of some other widely used diabetes drugs, pointing out this recent medical journal article, “New-Onset Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy and Initiators of Semaglutide in US Veterans With Type 2 Diabetes“.

We have been investigating possible drug injury lawsuits involving Wegovy and Ozempic vision loss for patients who have been diagnosed with NAION for the past year and a half, and continue to do so.

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