Investigation of the Retinal and Optic Disc Microvascularization in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: An Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Study

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To investigate retinal and optic disc microvascular alterations using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Methods

Forty-six eyes of 23 patients with PCOS (PCOS group), and 50 eyes of 25 sex and age-matched healthy controls (control group) were included in this cross-sectional study. Foveal retinal thickness, peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness, vessel density in different sections of the retina and optic disc were analyzed by OCTA.

Results

The superficial parafoveal vessel densities were significantly lower in PCOS group compared to the control group (53.7 ± 4.0%, and 55.4 ± 2.7%, respectively, p = .02). The deep retinal vessel densities, foveal retinal thicknesses and RNFL thicknesses, whole image of optic disc radial peripapillary capillary densities, foveal avascular zone and flow areas were similar between the groups (p > .05 for all).

Conclusion

OCTA analysis indicates that patients with PCOS tend to have lower superficial parafoveal vessel densities.

KEYWORDS:

• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• optical coherence tomography angiography
• retina
• optic disc

Authors contributions

AE, BEK, OSK—conception or design of the work; the acquisition, analysis, interpretation of data, AE, BEK, OSK —drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content. AE, BEK, OSK —Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

All data are included in this paper.

Ethical approval

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.

This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

All authors approved the version to be published.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.