Variations in Central Corneal Thickness During the Menstrual Cycle in Women

Abstract

The central corneal thickness changes during the menstrual cycle; the cornea is thinnest at the beginning of the cycle and thickest at the end. These changes could be secondary to hormonal influences; estrogen receptors can be found in human corneas, suggesting that estrogen may have a role in corneal physiology.

Age-related differences in corneal epithelial thickness measurements with anterior segment optical coherence tomography

“…A similar magnitude of difference was observed by Kanellopolous and Asimellis [2]. Findings from previous investigations suggest that endocrine differences may affect ocular tissue growth [20,21]. Interestingly, variations in corneal thickness have been found in women during different phases of the Fig.…”

“…Gray sectors Sectors where there was no significant correlation, white sectors sectors where there was a significant difference (partial correlation test, controlled for gender and spherical equivalent refraction). Significantly different at P \ 0.05, *P \ 0.01, and **P \ 0.001 Age-related differences in corneal epithelial thickness measurements with anterior segment… menstrual cycle [21], during pregnancy [27], and during hormone replacement therapy [28], suggesting a potential hormonal influence on corneal thickness, even while the exact role remains obscure [20,21]. Refractive status is another variable that could affect CET, but there are as yet no reports of a correlation between refraction and CET.…”

“…For example, gender should be controlled when the aim is to evaluate the correlation of CET with age because there are ample reports of the cornea being thicker in men than in women [17][18][19]. Kanellopoulos and Asimellis also observed significant gender difference in CET [2], and some researchers have suggested that endocrine differences may affect ocular tissue growth [20,21]. Ethnic variability in study populations may also affect CET, but to date no studies have explored this aspect of CET.…”

Variations in corneal biomechanical parameters and central corneal thickness during the menstrual cycle

“…Indeed, cyclic variations in corneal topography and corneal thickness have been described. [1][2][3] These changes are probably driven by the direct interaction of sex hormones with sex hormone receptors located in the human cornea. 4,5 The Ocular Response Analyzer (ORA) (Reichert, Inc.) can be used to assess in vivo corneal biomechanical properties, which are presented by 2 parametersdcorneal hysteresis (CH) and the corneal resistance factor (CRF).…”

Wide Corneal Epithelial Mapping Using an Optical Coherence Tomography

“…Kanellopoulos et al 4 and Wu et al 18 agreed with our findings; however, their studies show slightly smaller differences in the central epithelium with 1.52 lm and 1.34 lm, respectively. Research has shown the influence of gonadal hormones on ocular development 21,22 ; perhaps this can explain the difference.…”