Effect of Gender on Clinical And Epidemiologic Features of Lyme Borreliosis
- 1 March 2007
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Mary Ann Liebert Inc in Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases
- Vol. 7 (1), 34-41
- https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2006.0533
Abstract
The aim is to highlight the influence of patients' gender on Lyme borreliosis and especially erythema migrans (EM), focusing on exposure to tick bites, epidemiology, and the clinical picture. All studies were conducted in the county of Blekinge, located in southeastern Sweden. A prospective study was conducted in 235 individuals (women, n = 110; men, n = 125) engaged in recreational or occupational activities focusing on exposure to tick bites. A retrospective epidemiologic study evaluating 123,495 electronic patients' records (women, n = 61,712; men, n = 61,783) and a prospective clinical study including 118 patients (women, n = 54; men, n = 64) 18 years or older seeking care for EM ≥ cm in diameter with genospecies verified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were conducted. Women 40 years or older had a 48% higher risk than men 40 years or older and 42% higher risk than women younger than 40 years of attracting tick bites (0.0188 versus 0.0127 and 0.0188 versus 0.0132 tick bites respectively per hour). Additionally they had a 96% higher risk than men younger than 40 years of attracting tick bites (0.0188 versus 0.0096). The annual incidence rate of EM in women was 506 and in men 423 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (p < 0.001). Significant differences in incidence rates occurred in those 40 years or older. Odds ratios for males infected with Borrelia afzelii developing nonannular EM were 0.09 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.03 to 0.33) in comparison to females infected by Borrelia afzeli. Significant gender differences in the risk of contracting tick bites, incidence rates, and clinical picture of EM have been observed. Exposure to tick bites alone may not explain these observations and further studies need to be done to clarify the biologic, immunologic, and sociological mechanisms causing these differences. Key Words: Lyme borreliosis—Erythema migrans— Borrelia afzelii—Borrelia garinii—Borrelia burgdorferi. Vector-Borne Zoonotic Dis. 7, 34–41.Keywords
This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit:
- Erythema migrans nach Infektion durch Borrelia afzelii oder Borrelia garinii: Abhängigkeit des klinischen Erscheinungsbildes vom Geschlecht der PatientenWiener klinische Wochenschrift, 2006
- Lyme borreliosis reinfection: might it be explained by a gender difference in immune response?Immunology, 2006
- Tick prevention in a population living in a highly endemic areaScandinavian Journal of Public Health, 2005
- The shifting landscape of tick-borne zoonoses: tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme borreliosis in EuropePhilosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 2001
- Lyme borreliosis in SloveniaZentralblatt für Bakteriologie, 1999
- Gonadal steroids and immunityEndocrine Reviews, 1996
- Acrodermatitis Chronica Atrophicans—A Spirochetosis Clinical and Histopathological Picture Based on 32 Patients; Course and Relationship to Erythema Chronicum Migrans AfzeliusThe American Journal of Dermatopathology, 1986
- Erythema chronicum migrans of Lyme diseaseArchives of Dermatology, 1984
- Erythema-migrans-Krankheit: Beitrag zur Klinik und Beziehung zur Lyme-KrankheitDeutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift (1946), 1983