Abstract
Abstract: :
Purpose:The purpose of this study was to evaluate gender differences among children diagnosed with intermittent exotropia. Methods:In this retrospective, population–based cohort study, the medical records of all Olmsted County, Minnesota residents younger than 19 years diagnosed with intermittent exotropia from January 1, 1975, through December 31, 1994, were reviewed. Results:One hundred twenty–seven (65.1%) of the 195 study patients were female with an age–adjusted incidence rate of 42.9 (95% CI: 35.4–50.3) per 100,000 compared to 22.0 (95% CI: 16.8–27.2) per 100,000 for males (p<0.0001). The mean age at diagnosis was 6.1 years for girls and 6.7 years for boys (p=0.57). The median initial angle of distance deviation was 20 prism diopters for both sexes. Forty–six (36.2%) of the 127 girls underwent surgery at a mean age of 7.5 years compared to 19 (27.9%) of 68 boys at a mean age of 8.3 years (p=0.62). There were no significant differences between girls and boys in their family history of strabismus, birth weight, or prevalence of premature birth. Conclusions:Intermittent exotropia was significantly more common in girls than boys in this defined population. There were, however, no significant differences between the sexes in their perinatal history, age at diagnosis, initial angle of deviation, or age at surgery.
Keywords: esotropia and exotropia • clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence • strabismus