Sex hormone levels and intraocular pressure in postmenopausal Nigerian women

A number of hormones are known to affect intra ocular pressure (IOP). Of these, the female sex hormones are the predominant ones to cause variations in IOP. During menopause, a changing hormone profile in the body causes important shifts in the levels of these hormones. Studies on the effect of menopause on visual function, cardiovascular and ocular hemodynamics showed that menopausal women had significantly higher IOP as compared to premenopausal women. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of serum levels of sex hormones on IOP in postmenopausal Nigerian women.

This study was an experimental, cross sectional study. Twenty postmenopausal women aged 50 to 55 years (mean age 52 +/- 2.32) and twenty premenopausal women aged 45 to 50 years (mean age 50 +/- 2.13) were selected by systematic random sampling. The women were free from systemic or ocular diseases. IOP was measured and serum levels of progesterone, estradiol and testosterone were determined by hormone assay for all subjects. Data was analyzed by correlation analysis.

Mean IOP between the postmenopausal (16.00 +/- 5.81 mmHg) and premenopausal women (15.50 +/- 3.28 mmHg, p = 0.24) was not statistically significant. Although there was a positive correlation between IOP and estradiol level in the postmenopausal women (r = 0.567, p = 0.009), no significant correlation was found between IOP and serum levels of sex hormones among the premenopausal women.

Our result suggests a relation between levels of estradiol and IOP in postmenopausal Nigerian women. However further studies may be required to determine a direct cause and effect relationship.