During the AOA’s 2025 House of Delegates meeting, director of the AOA’s clinical resources group, Andrew Morgenstern, OD, announced the report, “Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists and Ocular Health: Guidance for Optometric Practice.”

The report, available here, provides guidance to optometrists on managing patients using these drugs, which are designated for diabetes and/or weight loss.

Specifically, GLP-1s have been linked with worsening diabetic retinopathy (DR), nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) and, most recently, neovascular age-related macular degeneration. The 9-page report includes discussions on the drug category itself, its use in the United States (6% of adults as of 2024), the systemic and ocular risks, and the clinical recommendations for optometric care.

Editor's note: for more about DR, NAION, and GLP-1s, see "Diabetic Retinopathy and Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Agonists" in the May 2025 issue of Optometric Management.

With reporting from AOA FOCUS.