Primary open angle glaucoma and hypothyroidism

imary open angle glaucoma and hypothyroidism Original Research (5723) Total Article Views Authors: George Kitsos, Chrisavgi Pappa, Agathoklis Tsatsoulis Published Date January 2010 Volume 2010:2 Pages 5 - 8 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/OPTO.S8048 George Kitsos1, Chrisavgi Pappa1, Agathoklis Tsatsoulis2 1Department of Ophthalmology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece; 2Endocrinology Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece Purpose: To test the hypothesis: is there an association between primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) and hypothyroidism, and to establish the necessity of routine examination of thyroid function in these patients? Design: Observational cross sectional study. Materials and methods: 78 consecutive patients with a previous diagnosis of POAG and 77 control patients were evaluated for hypothyroidism. The levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone, free thyroxin and triiodothyronine were measured. Results: No patient had hypothyroidism and no correlation was found between glaucoma and either thyroid-stimulating hormone, free thyroxin or triiodothyronine. Conclusion: This study determined there is no an association between glaucoma and hypothyroidism. Therefore, we believe that the systematic screening for hypothyroidism in all patients with POAG is unnecessary.