Age influences the severity of Graves' ophthalmopathy

This study compared the ocular manifestations of Graves' disease in different age groups and between genders. This was a retrospective study with a chart review of 210 patients seen in the Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital Ophthalmology Department from 1990 to 2006. Clinical manifestations were recorded, scored, and compared between different age groups and between genders. A total of 77 male and 133 female patients were included. The mean age of the patients was 48.71 years (53.80 for male and 45.77 for female patients). The average ophthalmopathy score was 3.72 (4.51 for male and 3.26 for female patients). Age was positively correlated with ophthalmopathy score (p < 0.01). The male patients scored higher than the female patients, generally and in different age groups, but the difference did not reach a statistically significant level. One hundred and six patients underwent tests for thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antibody (TRAb); 92 (86.80%) were positive, but the titers did not correlate with the severity of ophthalmopathy. In conclusion, the severity of Graves' ophthalmopathy is correlated with age (r = 0.286). Thus, older patients should be more closely followed up and more aggressively treated.