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Tear film impairment and meibomian gland loss in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome

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Abstract

Objective

The aim of this prospective study is to comparatively assess the tear film, meibomian gland (MG), cornea and anterior chamber parameters and also subjective ocular complaints in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and healthy control subjects.

Materials and methods

We included 53 eyes of the 53 patients diagnosed with PCOS and 57 eyes of the 57 healthy control subjects (who are non-pregnant, none of the following clinical findings of male pattern hair loss, hirsutism or acne and with regular menstrual cycles, who have no laboratory findings in her medical history that indicate hyperandrogenism, and who have ovaries that appear to be normal ultrasonographically. All subjects were referred to the masked ophthalmologist by the obstetrician and gynecologist. Participants underwent evaluation of the non-invasive tear film break-up time test (NI-BUT); loss of MGs by non-contact meibography, evaluation of cornea and anterior chamber parameters, and evaluation of subjective ocular complaints using the ocular surface disease index (OSDI).

Results

The mean age of PCOS group and controls was 25.08 ± 4.88 and 25.44 ± 5.00 years, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the PCOS and control groups in terms of age (p = 0.732). Mean non-invasive first tear film breakup times (NIF-BUT) values of PCOS group and controls were 6.15 ± 4.99 and 10.48 ± 5.81 s, and mean non-invasive average tear film breakup times (NIAvg–BUT) values of PCOS group and controls were 8.48 ± 4.27 and 11.94 ± 4.64 s, respectively; both cases refer to a significant difference between the groups (p = 0.000). In PCOS group, loss of MG in the upper lids was 40.21%, in the lower lids was 53.45%; on the other hand, in control group 15.76% and 21.47%, respectively; both cases refer to a significant difference between the groups (p = 0.000). The number of patients with abnormal OSDI scores (scores ≥ 13 points) was significantly higher in PCOS group (54.7%) than in controls (19.3%) (p = 0.000). Anterior chamber volume (ACV) measured by the topography device in PCOS group was significantly lower (156.5 and 167.4) (p = 0.024).

Conclusion

Findings of this study indicated that tear film stability impaired in patients with PCOS and that this impairment was accompanied by the loss of MG, which play a key role in tear film stability.

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Data and availability of materials

Data and materials are Available upon reguest:dr.yakup.acet@gmail.com.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Mardin Training and Research Hospital, Mardin, Turkey

    Yakup Acet

  2. Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Mardin Training and Research Hospital, Mardin, Turkey

    Sevcan Sarikaya

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  1. Yakup Acet
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  2. Sevcan Sarikaya
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Correspondence to Yakup Acet.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the Bioethics Committee of the Medical University of Harran (HRU/21.16.17).

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Acet, Y., Sarikaya, S. Tear film impairment and meibomian gland loss in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. Int Ophthalmol 43, 795–805 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10792-022-02479-z

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