Abstract
Objectives
To investigate the occurrence of glaucoma and association with the serum estradiol (E2) level in postmenopausal women.
Methods
We evaluated the serum E2 level, female reproductive factors and glaucoma related risk factors including intraocular pressure and optical coherence tomography (OCT) findings in 30 postmenopausal women who visited Obstetrics and Gynecology outpatient clinic. Patients who showed abnormal findings on the glaucoma screening test were classified to the glaucoma suspect group (group-G), and underwent a glaucoma confirmatory test. Serum E2 level, female reproductive and other menopausal health-related factors such as lipid profiles and bone mineral densities were analyzed in the group-G and non glaucomatous group (group-N).
Results
Eight out of thirty participants (26.7%) were classified to the group-G. One of them was diagnosed as having glaucoma that required treatment, and the other two were found to have early glaucomatous changes. Compared to the group-G, the group-N had a higher level of serum E2 (19.40 ± 4.79 vs. 13.95 ± 4.55 pg/mL) The difference, however, was not statistically significant (P = 0.525). The proportion of glaucoma suspect patients in the groups with a higher serum E2 level (≥ 20 pg/mL) and a lower serum E2 level (< 20 pg/mL) was similar (25.0 and 27.3%, P = 0.645). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that no female reproductive factors were associated with the risk of glaucoma.
Figures and Tables
Table 2
Menopausal health related factors and frequency of glaucoma suspect by serum estradiol level
![jksm-19-106-i002](/upload/SynapseData/ArticleImage/0165jksm/jksm-19-106-i002.jpg)
*Mean ± SE, †Number (%), ‡P value for Student's t test for continuous variables and Fisher's exact test for categorical variables.
LDL: low density lipoprotein, HDL: high density lipoprotein, TG: triglyceride, Glu: glucose, BMI: body mass index, BMD: bone mineral densities, IOP: intraocular pressure
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