Hormones and Vision
Women are often accused of having our hormones affect the way we see things. Scientists
have confirmed, however, that our hormones do affect our vision. A recent study
in the American Journal of Epidemiology (7/15/01) showed that
women who have an early natural menopause have an increased risk of open-angle
glaucoma.
Doctors
at the Netherlands Ophthalmic Research Institute in Amsterdam studied the association
between age at menopause and open-angle glaucoma among 3078 women over 55 years
of age [who participated in the population-based Rotterdam Study].
Seventy-eight
women with a natural menopause were diagnosed with open-angle glaucoma, compared
with 15 women with a surgical menopause. After adjustment for age and HRT use,
women with natural menopause before age 45 had a higher risk of open-angle
glaucoma than women who went through menopause after age 50.
Interestingly, women who had used HRT had a lower risk of open-angle glaucoma
than those who had not used it. [Compared with the controls, women who experienced
early menopause before age 45 also had a higher risk of having elevated intraocular
pressure.] To explain this, the researchers said that the decrease in estrogen
and progesterone levels after menopause may play a key role. For more information,
click here.
Created: 9/11/2001 - Donnica Moore, M.D.
