Correlation of choroidal thickness with serum cortisol level

The aim was to investigate the correlation of serum cortisol level with choroidal thickness.

Sixty-six healthy volunteers had no visual complaints or history of ocular disease. Subfoveal choroidal thickness at the foveal centre was measured with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). Morning serum cortisol levels were obtained at 8:00 am immediately following the SD-OCT measurement. Measurements of only the right eyes were included in the study. Age, gender, axial length and spherical equivalent were noted. Correlation of choroidal thickness with age, gender, axial length, spherical equivalent and serum cortisol level were investigated with linear and multiple regression analysis.

Sixty-six eyes of 66 patients were evaluated. Mean age was 43.4 ± 3.6 years (range: 40 to 53 years), mean spherical equivalent was -0.15 D (range: -1.25 to +1.50 D), mean axial length was 23.2 mm (range; 22.0 to 23.7 mm), mean choroidal thickness was 317.9 ± 45.1 μm (range: 206 to 394 μm). Age and spherical equivalent were not significantly correlated with choroidal thickness. Axial length had a strong negative correlation with choroidal thickness (R(2): 0.488, p = 0.000). There was no significant correlation between serum cortisol level and choroidal thickness (R(2): 0.034, p = 0.139).

Our results did not reveal any correlation between serum cortisol level and choroidal thickness. We believe that more prospective studies are needed to determine the relationship of cortisol and other hormones with choroidal thickness.