New research led by a team of investigators from Flinders University in Australia and published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology assessed the effect of gender on the symptoms and clinical outcomes of ocular toxoplasmosis.
Talk about the study.
Researchers compared the clinical information of 262 patients (139 women) who presented to a tertiary referral uveitis service in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, to more precisely understand the impact of gender on ocular toxoplasmosis.
What clinical data did researchers analyze?
The study authors focused on assessing patient data such as demographics, reported symptoms of uveitis and ocular toxoplasmosis, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), and ocular complications—which were disaggregated by gender and compared statistically.
Findings?
For both men and women, there were approximately equal numbers who had active versus inactive ocular toxoplasmosis, and most infections were remotely acquired.
Break it down by gender.
Interestingly, men were significantly more likely to present with primary active disease than women (24.4% vs. 12.9%).
In contrast, women were significantly more likely to present with recurrent active disease than men (50.4% vs. 35.3%).
Tell me more.
Women were also more likely to have multiple lesions (54.7% vs. 39.8%), and the lesions in women’s eyes were more likely to occur at the posterior pole compared to the lesions found in men’s eyes (56.1% vs. 39.8%).
Anything else?
Measures of vision were similar between the genders, and no significant differences were observed in visual acuity, ocular complications, and the occurrence and timing of reactivations.
Expert opinion?
“For the first time, we are showing that the symptoms of toxoplasmosis vary not just depending on the age and health of the infected individual but also on their gender,” noted Justine Smith, senior author of the study.
Significance?
The study findings show that, overall, ocular toxoplasmosis tends to have equivalent outcomes in men and women. However, gender-based clinical differences were observed in the form, type of disease, and location of retinal lesions.
“This research demonstrates the potential for patients’ gender to influence toxoplasmosis in their eyes, so we can improve our understanding about the disease and hopefully develop future treatment pathways,” Smith stated.