Disorders of the eye, ear, skin, and nervous system in women with Turner syndrome –a nationwide cohort study

The literature about eye, ear, nose, skin, and nervous system disorders in women with Turner syndrome is equivocal. Impaired vision and hearing in women with Turner syndrome have been described, and case reports of Turner syndrome girls suffering from epilepsy have been published, but no large population-based-studies have explored the occurrence of any of these disorders. We aimed to investigate the risk of admission with disorders related to the eye, ear, nose, skin, and nervous system, compared with background females, and the impact of hormone replacement therapy on these conditions. 1,156 females with TS diagnosed during 1960–2014 were identified using the Danish Cytogenetic Central Registry and linked with personal-level data from the National Patient Registry and the Medication Statistics Registry. Statistics Denmark randomly identified 115,577 age-matched background females. Negative binomial regression was used to analyze hospital discharge diagnoses, reporting incidence rate ratios (IRR). Women with Turner syndrome have an increased risk of developing eye disorders (IRR 4.3 (95% CI 3.5–5.4), including cataract, glaucoma, ocular movement, and accommodation. The risk of ear disorders (IRR 35.0 (27.9–43.9)) and nose (IRR 2.2 (1.4–3.6)) was increased in women with Turner syndrome, due to otitis media, cholesteatoma, and hearing loss. Disorders of the nervous system such as epilepsy were increased IRR 6.2 (2.4–15.9), along with skin conditions IRR 2.2 (95%CI 1.7–2.7) like psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and ingrown nails.