Gender differences and delay in presentation of childhood squint

Objective: To assess gender differences and delay in presentation of childhood squint in a tertiary care hospital Methods: It was a series of children presenting with squint at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. We retrospectively studied the cases presenting between February 2000 and July 2007. Results: A total of 107 children with squint were seen. Of these, 55 (52.4%) were girls. A statistically significant difference was observed between the mean age at presentation (± SD) of boys and girls (3 years and 5 months vs 4 years and 5 months p:<0.05). Girls had a greater mean (SD) and median (range) delay in squint presentation than had boys (2year 4months ±3 years vs 3 years ±2 year 8 months) and 2 year 3 months (1 month to 12 years) vs 1 year 3 months (1month to 14 years), respectively. Overall amblyopia was present in 25.3% (23/91) children. Girls also had a higher burden of amblyopia compared with their male counterparts though the difference was not statistically significant (P= 0.09). Conclusion: There was a significant gender difference in age at presentation of childhood squint in our study.