Correlation between steroid hormone balance and etiopathology of high myopia: clinical trial

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between steroid hormone balance in fertile women and the progression of high myopia. Variations of cortisol, progesterone, and estradiol were evaluated. A case-control clinical trial was conducted on two groups of subjects. The first group included patients affected by high myopia (with insufficient optical correction). The control group was composed of emmetropic or hypermetropic women of the same age group. We observed increased serum cortisol levels in the women with high myopia, whereas progesterone and 17- b-estradiol did not differ between the two groups. The significantly higher cortisol values in the group with high myopia supported Balacco Gabrieli's theory on the role of hormonal balance in the progression of high myopia.