Influence of menopausal status on retinal and choroidal thickness using SS-OCT

Background: To evaluate the influence of menopausal status on retinal and choroidal thickness. Methods Ninety-five postmenopausal study group and ninety-five age-matched premenopausal control group were recruited randomly. The thickness of the retina and choroid was measured by swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT). Results The postmenopausal group showed significantly decreased choroidal thickness in the inner temporal ( p  = 0.038) and inner superior ( p  = 0.036) sectors, as compared to the premenopausal group. Conclusions This study revealed that choroidal thickness measured by SS-OCT was significantly thinner in postmenopausal women than control group. We speculate that the decrease in choroidal thickness in postmenopausal women indicate a reduced estrogen-dependent vasodilatory effect in ophthalmic vessels. Trial registration: Participants enrolled in the research signed informed consent and the study was approved by the institutional ethics committee of Huashan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University (protocol number: KY2016-274).