Loading…

Sex and gender in neurodevelopmental conditions

Health-related conditions often differ qualitatively or quantitatively between individuals of different birth-assigned sexes and gender identities, and/or with different gendered experiences, requiring tailored care. Studying the moderating and mediating effects of sex-related and gender-related fac...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature reviews. Neurology 2023-03, Vol.19 (3), p.136-159
Main Authors: Bölte, Sven, Neufeld, Janina, Marschik, Peter B., Williams, Zachary J., Gallagher, Louise, Lai, Meng-Chuan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Health-related conditions often differ qualitatively or quantitatively between individuals of different birth-assigned sexes and gender identities, and/or with different gendered experiences, requiring tailored care. Studying the moderating and mediating effects of sex-related and gender-related factors on impairment, disability, wellbeing and health is of paramount importance especially for neurodivergent individuals, who are diagnosed with neurodevelopmental conditions with uneven sex/gender distributions. Researchers have become aware of the myriad influences that sex-related and gender-related variables have on the manifestations of neurodevelopmental conditions, and contemporary work has begun to investigate the mechanisms through which these effects are mediated. Here we describe topical concepts of sex and gender science, summarize current knowledge, and discuss research and clinical challenges related to autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and other neurodevelopmental conditions. We consider sex and gender in the context of epidemiology, behavioural phenotypes, neurobiology, genetics, endocrinology and neighbouring disciplines. The available evidence supports the view that sex and gender are important contributors to the biological and behavioural variability in neurodevelopmental conditions. Methodological caveats such as frequent conflation of sex and gender constructs, inappropriate measurement of these constructs and under-representation of specific demographic groups (for example, female and gender minority individuals and people with intellectual disabilities) limit the translational potential of research so far. Future research and clinical implementation should integrate sex and gender into next-generation diagnostics, mechanistic investigations and support practices. Here, Sven Bölte and colleagues consider the effects of sex and gender on neurodevelopmental conditions. They discuss the available epidemiological, behavioural, neurobiological and endocrinological evidence and highlight the importance of further research in this area. Key points Sex-related and gender-related factors moderate or mediate biological and behavioural variability in neurodevelopmental conditions; they exert influence through diverse mechanisms that act at multiple levels. Moderating effects of sex and/or gender are supported by epidemiological, behavioural, cognitive, neurobiological, genetic, endocrinological and immunological evidence, especially i
ISSN:1759-4758
1759-4766
1759-4766
DOI:10.1038/s41582-023-00774-6