polycystic ovary syndrome ( pcos ) is one of the most common endocrinopathies among women in the reproductive age , and it affects 57% of this group .
it is characterized by an irregular menstrual cycle , ovulatory dysfunction , and hyperandrogenism [ 2 , 3 ] .
. more than 40% of women with pcos might develop impaired glucose tolerance or type 2 diabetes mellitus [ 5 , 6 ] . optical coherence tomography ( oct )
is a noninvasive , noncontact technique that utilizes near infrared , low coherence light passing through a michelson interferometer to obtain two - dimensional images of the retina , the resolution of which is approximately 510  m in the axial plane .
this study included 88 eyes of 44 women ( group 1 ) with pcos and 84 eyes of 42 healthy women ( group 2 ) . the women with pcos
the women with pcos were selected according to the androgen excess and pcos society ( aes 2006 ) criteria that included hyperandrogenism , ovulatory dysfunction , and/or polycystic ovary morphology .
the women who had a systemic problem other than pcos were not included in the study .
informed consent was obtained from all included subjects , and the study protocol was approved by the local ethical committee .
the anterior - posterior segments , visual acuity ( va ) , intraocular pressure ( iop ) , central macular thickness ( cmt ) , central corneal thickness ( cct ) , and cup / disc ratio ( c / d ) were examined for all patients in the ophthalmology clinic ( table 1 ) .
in addition , superior nasal ( sn ) rnfl , nasal upper ( nu ) rnfl , nasal lateral ( nl ) rnfl , inferior nasal ( in ) rnfl , inferior temporal ( it ) rnfl , temporal lateral ( tl ) rnfl , temporal upper ( tu ) rnfl , superior temporal ( st ) rnfl , average ( avg . ) rnfl , superior ( sup . ) avg .
exclusion criteria for both groups included presence of glaucoma , ocular hypertension ( iop  >  21  mmhg ) , diabetes mellitus , retinal vasculitis or dystrophy , and history of intraocular surgery , amblyopia , or refractive errors more than 1.00 diopter spherical equivalent .
rnfl , cmt , cct , and gcc thicknesses were measured using oct ( rtvue-100 ; optovue , fremont , ca ) .
independent t - test and mann - whitney u test were used for statistical evaluation . a p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant .
the mean age ( mean    sd ) of the pcos group was 24.55  5.67 ( range : 1834 ) years and that of the control group was 27.29  5.9 ( range : 1833 ) years ( p = 0.173 ) . mean va , iop , cmt , cct , and c / d were similar in both groups ( table 1 ) .
the rnfl average was 109.98  8.19  m in the study group and 103.96  8.28 in the control group ( p = 0.003 ) .
the average superior rnfl thickness was 111.55  10.36  m in the study group and 105.39  9.11  m in the control group ( p = 0.012 ) ; the average inferior rnfl thickness was 108.32  8.49  m in the study group and 102.64  9.08  m in the control group ( p = 0.009 ) . also mean sn rnfl , in rnfl , and st rnfl were thicker in women with pcos than in healthy women ( table 2 ) .
we aimed to compare the measurements of rnfl , iop , cct , and gcc in women with pcos and healthy women . in this study , which is the first of its kind ,
we have analyzed the thicknesses of rnfl , gcc , cct , cmt , and the iop in women with pcos and compared it with healthy women .
typically , the tear function , drainage and osmolarity [ 9 , 10 ] , meibomian gland function , and ocular surface   were affected by pcos .
high level of nerve growth factor ( ngf ) was reported in women with pcos .
rnfl thickness was thicker in women with pcos than in healthy women in superior nasal , inferior nasal and superior temporal quadrants .
also average rnfl thickness and average superior and average inferior quadrants rnfl thicknesses were significantly thicker in women with pcos than in healthy women .
the limitations of this study were small sample size , lack of pathologic examination , and inability to reason the results .
studies with larger numbers of participants are required to clarify the clinical and pathophysiological significance of rnfl thickness in women with pcos .
the results of this study can be taken into account in evaluating patients who had pcos and glaucoma or multiple sclerosis . in summary
, we found that the average rnfl , average superior and inferior rnfl , sn rnfl , in rnfl , and st rnfl thicknesses were significantly higher in women with pcos than in healthy women .
we have interpreted that excess androgens and ngf cause an increase in rnfl thickness in women with pcos .
 
 aim . to compare the retinal nerve fiber layer ( rnfl ) thickness between women with polycystic ovary syndrome ( pcos ) and healthy women . 
 materials and methods . the study included 88 eyes of 44 women ( group 1 ) with pcos and 84 eyes of 42 healthy women ( group 2 ) . in all subjects , 
 the rnfl and ganglion cell complex ( gcc ) thicknesses were measured by optical coherence tomography ( oct ) . 
 in addition , visual acuity ( va ) , intraocular pressure ( iop ) , refractive errors , central macular thickness ( cmt ) , central corneal thickness ( cct ) , and excavation of optic disc were evaluated in all subjects . 
 results . 
 mean values of gcc , iop , va , cmt , cct , and refractive errors were similar between the 2 groups . 
 the average rnfl , superior average rnfl , and inferior average rnfl thicknesses were higher in subjects with pcos than in healthy subjects ( p = 0.003 , p = 0.012 , and p = 0.009 ) , respectively . 
 conclusion . 
 the average rnfl , superior average rnfl , and inferior average rnfl thicknesses in women with pcos were significantly higher than in healthy women . 
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results
4. Discussion