An analysis of neuroscience and psychiatry papers published from 2009 and 2019 outlines opportunities for increasing discovery of sex differences

Sex differences exist in many neurological and psychiatric diseases, but these have not always been addressed adequately in research. In order to address this, it is necessary to consider how sex is incorporated into the design (e.g. using a balanced design) and into the analyses (e.g. using sex as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature communications 2022-04, Vol.13 (1), p.2137-2137, Article 2137
Main Authors: Rechlin, Rebecca K., Splinter, Tallinn F. L., Hodges, Travis E., Albert, Arianne Y., Galea, Liisa A. M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
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Design
Design analysis
Female
Gender aspects
Gender differences
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Male
Mental disorders
multidisciplinary
Nervous system
Neurosciences
Optimization
Psychiatry
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Sex Characteristics
Sex differences
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Summary:Sex differences exist in many neurological and psychiatric diseases, but these have not always been addressed adequately in research. In order to address this, it is necessary to consider how sex is incorporated into the design (e.g. using a balanced design) and into the analyses (e.g. using sex as a covariate) in the published literature. We surveyed papers published in 2009 and 2019 across six journals in neuroscience and psychiatry. In this sample, we find a 30% increase in the percentage of papers reporting studies that included both sexes in 2019 compared with 2009. Despite this increase, in 2019 only 19% of papers in the sample reported using an optimal design for discovery of possible sex differences, and only 5% of the papers reported studies that analysed sex as a discovery variable. We conclude that progress to date has not been sufficient to address the importance of sex differences in research for discovery and therapeutic potential for neurological and psychiatric disease. Sex differences occur in many neurological and psychiatric diseases, and yet research is not always designed optimally to identify these. Here the authors perform a study of how sex was incorporated into the design and analyses of papers published six journals in neuroscience and psychiatry in 2009 compared with 2019.
ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/s41467-022-29903-3