Does HRT Change İntraocular Pressure in Postmenopausal Women ?

INTRODUCTION: We aimed to investigate the changes of intraocular pressure in menopause patients with the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
METHODS: Totally 137 postmenopausal women were evaluated in the study. 61 of them were under the treatment of HRT due to the menopausal symptoms. 76 women did not receive treatment. IOP ( intraocular pressure ) was measured with Goldmann tonometer (Optilasa,S.L., Madrid, Spain) in both groups.
RESULTS: In the HRT treatment group ( study group), mean values of IOP for 2 eyes in the first visits was 15.4 ± 1.7 mmHg and 13.9 ± 1.4 mmHg after 6 months use of HRT, respectively (p<0.05). In the non-HRT group (control group) mean values of IOP for 2 eyes in the first visits was 14.4 ± 1.4 mmHg and 14.3 ± 1.4 mmHg after six months, respectively( p˃0.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: HRT use and regular measurement of IOP seems to prevents to reduce risk the of glaucoma in these patients unless there are strong evidence that glaucoma does not occur in women on HRT.