title: Differences in neuroretinal function between adult males and females.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether neuroretinal function differs in healthy adult males and females younger and older than 50 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included one eye from each of 50 normal subjects (29 females and 21 males). Neuroretinal function was assessed using first-order P1 implicit times (ITs) and N1-P1 amplitudes (AMPs) obtained from photopic multifocal electroretinograms. To assess local differences, retinal maps of local IT and (separately) AMP averages were constructed for each subject group. To examine global differences, each subject's 103 ITs and (separately) AMPs were also averaged to create whole-eye averages. Subsequently, retinal maps and whole-eye averages of one subject group were compared with those of another.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In subjects younger than 50 years, neuroretinal function differed significantly between the males and females: local ITs were significantly shorter at 83 of 103 tested retinal locations, and whole-eye IT averages were shorter (p = 0.015) in the males compared with the females. In contrast, no analysis indicated that the males and females older than 50 years were significantly different. A subanalysis showed that the females who reported a hysterectomy (n = 5) had the longest whole-eye ITs of all subject groups (p ≤ 0.0013). In the females who did not report a hysterectomy, neuroretinal function was worse in the females older than 50 years compared with the females younger than 50 years: local ITs were significantly longer at 62 of 103 retinal locations tested, and whole-eye IT averages tended to be greater (p = 0.04). Conversely, ITs were not statistically different between the younger and older males. N1-P1 amplitudes did not differ between the sexes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Multifocal electroretinogram IT differs between males and females, depending on the age group and hysterectomy status.
authors.affiliation: *OD †PhD ‡OD, PhD, FAAO §PhD, RN ∥MD University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry, Berkeley, California (GO, MAB, KWB-C, MES, SB, AJA); and Midwestern University, Arizona College of Optometry, Glendale, Arizona (WWH).
authors.forename: Glen Y
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Ozawa
authors.forename: Marcus A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bearse
authors.forename: Wendy W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Kevin W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Bronson-Castain
authors.forename: Marilyn E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Schneck
authors.forename: Shirin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Barez
authors.forename: Anthony J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D004594:Electrophysiology; D004596:Electroretinography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012160:Retina / Q000502:physiology*; D012737:Sex Factors
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