Evaluation of the Corneal Endothelial Layer in Patients with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

Abstract Purpose Evaluation of corneal endothelial layer in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) by specular microscopy Methods This prospective cross-sectional study was carried out with 50 patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (group 1) and 44 healthy subjects (group 2) as controls. Endothelial cell density (ECD), hegzogonality (HEX), coefficient of variation (CV), central corneal thickness (CCT), minimum-maximum and mean cell volume (min-max MCV) were evaluated by noncontact specular microscope (Konan Medical Inc., Nishinomiya, Japan). Results The mean ages of the patients in group 1 and group 2 were 38.42 ± 9.70 and 38.18 ± 10.96 years, respectively. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of age and gender distribution (p > 0.05). HEX ratio (44.98 ± 5.86) and min-MCV values (149.82 ± 15.01) were statistically significantly lower in group 1 (p˂0.05). No significant difference was observed in other parameters evaluated by specular microscopy (p > 0.05). Conclusion The detection of thyroid hormone receptors in orbital structures and corneal layers suggests that the corneal endothelial layer may be affected and that structural or functional changes may occur in this layer in patients with HT.