Study of Corneal Thickness Changes during Different Phases of Menstrual Cycle

Abstract

Introduction Central corneal thickness is determined by many factors including, age sex, corneal hydration, hormones etc. Many studies have been done to study changes in central corneal thickness during different phases of menstrual cycle, however the results have been very varied. We did this study to find out changes in central corneal thickness during various phases of menstrual cycle. We also studied concurrent changes in IOP associated with various phases of menstrual cycle. Methods The study was carried out in the Department of Ophthalmology, Dhiraj Hospital, Piparia, Gujarat from May 2016 to September 2017. 100 participants were enrolled in the study. Thorough ophthalmic examination was done including ultrasonic pachymetry and Goldmann applanation tonometry Results Total 100 participants were included in the study. In our study, central corneal thickness was found to be thickest, at ovulation, and thinnest at the beginning of the menstrual cycle, with mean values of 533.24±22.44, 534.40±30.08(right eye, left eye respectively) on days 1-3;547.51±31, 548.25±29.94(right eye, left eye respectively) days13-15 and 537.22±29.62 538.28±29.97 (right eye, left eye respectively) on days 26-28. The intraocular pressure was found to be increasing from beginning of the menstrual cycle to ovulation with mean values of12.65±2.48,12.86±2.165(right eye, left eye respectively) on days 1-3 and13.15± 2.29,13.25± 2.086(right eye, left eye respectively) on days 26-28, although the increase was trivial. XI Conclusion Many ophthalmic procedures especially refractive surgeries should consider the change in central corneal thickness changes during different phases of menstrual cycle, and thorough evaluation should be done before surgery to yield better results.