Eye symptoms in patients with benign thyroid diseases

Abstract

Thyroid diseases may cause a variety of functional and structural body changes, including eye and vision abnormalities, which can have a negative impact on a patient’s well-being. However, only a few studies on the impact of other benign thyroid diseases on the visual process are available in the literature. In this study, using the Polish version of the thyroid-specific quality of life (ThyPROpl) questionnaire, we aimed to determine the self-reported influence of benign thyroid diseases (e.g., nodular goiter, toxic nodular goiter, Graves’ disease, thyroid orbitopathy, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and surgical hypothyroidism) on patients’ eyes and vision. This was a prospective study. In total, 374 randomly selected euthyroid patients and 255 control subjects responded to the ThyPROpl questionnaire and the results were evaluated. Nearly 69% of the respondents reported that the most frequent condition was “reduced sight.” Men most often reported wet/tearing eyes (66%). The occurrence of eyelid sacks or swollen eyelids (64%), ophthalmalgia (62%), and eye dryness (61%) was marked almost as often. In total, 29% of the patients reported diplopia, and it was found to be most prevalent among those with thyroid orbitopathy. Other complaints were similarly prevalent among all the subgroups. A positive correlation was also observed between the scores of the “eye symptoms” and other ailments. Except for swelling around the lower eyelids, patients with thyroid diseases more frequently experienced all of the ocular complaints analyzed in this study compared with controls. This study showed that eye complaints are common in patients with benign thyroid diseases and ocular disturbances have a negative impact on the overall quality of life of patients.