How Race and Birthweight May Influence Gender Differences in Retinopathy of Prematurity
1Alaska Blind Child Discovery, Alaska Children's EYE & Strabismus, 3500 Latouche #280, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA.
Background:
ROP Check® monitoring and documentation software from 28 American hospitals collected clinical data from 2010 to 2024 representing infants from a wide range of races and ethnicities.
Methods:
De-identified data compared gender to treatment status, race, birthweight (BW), gestational age (GA) and gestational age at first treatment.
Results:
From 7070 total patients, with 5060 having timely or early initial exams based on American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines, 386 had treatment for ROP. Males constituted 54.3% of treated infants and 54.4% of all infants. There was no gender difference in gestational age or age at treatment, but males had greater birthweights (685 to 610 g). There were more females treated under 600 g. There were race-related birthweight differences in infants treated for ROP.
Conclusion:
There are more males screened and treated for ROP, but treatment rates are similar for both genders. Male preponderance reverses for infants with birthweight less than 600 g. Race has an influence on treated ROP.
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