Changes in choroidal circulation hemodynamics during the menstrual cycle in young, healthy women

PURPOSE: The current study aimed to investigate the time course of changes in choroidal circulation hemodynamics and their relationship to systemic circulation dynamics during the normal menstrual cycle in young, healthy women using laser speckle flowgraphy (LSFG). METHODS: This prospective study included 26 eyes from 13 young, healthy women (21.3 ± 4.0 years) with a normal menstrual cycle and 24 eyes from 12 young, healthy men (21.8 ± 4.4 years) as a control group. The macular mean blur rate (MBR), a quantitative index of relative blood flow velocity in the choroid, was measured using LSFG. MBR, intraocular pressure (IOP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean blood pressure (MBP), and ocular perfusion pressure (OPP) were evaluated in the late follicular phase and mid-luteal phase in women and at baseline and 10 days after baseline in men, respectively. RESULTS: In the female group, IOP, SBP, DBP, MBP, and OPP values were significantly higher in the mid-luteal phase than those observed in the late follicular phase (P = 0.035, P < 0.001, P = 0.041, P = 0.001, P = 0.014, respectively). The average macular MBR values in the late follicular phase and mid-luteal phase were 12.7 ± 5.3 and 13.7 ± 6.6 (+7.7 ± 19.4%), representing a significant increase in the mid-luteal phase (P = 0.041). The rate of change in MBR exhibited a significant positive correlation with changes in DBP and MBP (R = 0.456, P = 0.019 and R = 0.474, P = 0.014). However, there were no significant changes in any of the factors in the male group during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that in young, healthy women with a normal menstrual cycle, choroidal blood flow velocity decreases during the late follicular phase and increases during the mid-luteal phase, depending on systemic circulatory dynamics.