PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Matilda R Lyons
AU  - Tiago Arantes
AU  - Barbara R Vieira
AU  - Joao M Furtado
AU  - Justine R Smith
TI  - Impact of gender on clinical features and outcomes of ocular toxoplasmosis
AID  - 10.1136/bjo-2023-323227
DP  - 2023 May 24
TA  - British Journal of Ophthalmology
PG  - bjo-2023-323227
4099  - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/early/2023/05/23/bjo-2023-323227.short
4100  - http://bjo.bmj.com/content/early/2023/05/23/bjo-2023-323227.full
AB  - Aim To investigate the effect of gender on the clinical features and outcomes of ocular toxoplasmosis.Methods 262 patients (139 women and 123 men) presenting to a tertiary referral uveitis service in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, with serological and clinical evidence of ocular toxoplasmosis were prospectively enrolled in an observational study. Predefined data items including demographics, descriptors of uveitis and ocular toxoplasmosis, best-corrected visual acuity and ocular complications were disaggregated by gender and compared statistically.Results Approximately equal numbers of women and men had active versus inactive ocular toxoplasmosis. In both women and men, most infections were remotely acquired. Men were significantly more likely to present with primary active disease than women (24.4% vs 12.9%); conversely, women were significantly more likely to present with recurrent active disease than men (36.0% vs 28.5%). One toxoplasmic retinal lesion was observed in more eyes of men than eyes of women (50.4% vs 35.3%), while women’s eyes were more likely to have multiple lesions than men’s eyes (54.7% vs 39.8%). Lesions in women’s eyes were significantly more likely to occur at the posterior pole compared with those in men’s eyes (56.1% vs 39.8%). Measures of vision were similar for women and men. There were no significant differences in measures of visual acuity, ocular complications, and occurrence and timing of reactivations between the genders.Conclusion Ocular toxoplasmosis has equivalent outcomes in women and men, with clinical differences in the form and type of disease, as well as characteristics of the retinal lesion.All data relevant to the study are included in the article.