Table 4.
Referenced alcohol seeking/preference studies investigating PAE and including both sexes, ranked and sorted by rigor in addressing sex as a biological variable.
| Rigor Score1 |
Reference | Species (Age) | Includes Both Sexes |
Main Effect of Sex |
PAE by Sex Interaction |
Statistics Performed |
Strengths | Limitations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | (Chotro and Arias, 2003) | Rats (Pre-weaning) | Yes | Assessed, not significant | Yes | ANOVA | Sex assessed statistically, appropriate controls included, multiple prenatal doses assessed | |
| 5 | (Diaz et al., 2020) | Rats (Adult) | Yes | Established in prior publication (Diaz et al., 2016) | Yes | T-tests, ANOVA | Sex assessed statistically, appropriate controls included | |
| 5 | (Griesler and Kandel, 1998) | Humans (Adolescent and Adult) | Yes | Implied, but not significant | Yes | Hierarchical multivariate logistic regression models. | Sex was reported as a non-significant predictor of adolescent drinking, prior to investigation of sex by PAE interactions | |
| 5 | (Kokhan et al., 2022) | Rats (Young Adult) | Yes | Yes | Yes | ANOVA | Sex assessed statistically, appropriate controls included | |
| 5 | (Lynch et al., 2017) | Humans (Young Adult) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Sex included as independent variable in general linear models | Sex assessed statistically, appropriate controls included | Females make up greater percentage of PAE groups than males |
| 5 | (Randall et al., 1983) | Mice (Adolescent) | Yes | Yes (p = 0.06) | Assessed, not significant | T-tests, ANOVA | Sex assessed statistically, appropriate controls included. | |
| 3 | (Goldschmidt et al., 2019) | Humans (Adult) | Yes | Implied | Unknown | Sex included as a coviariate in logistic regression models. | Sex (specifically, being male) was identified as a significant predictor in offspring drinking rates. | Sex by PAE interactions excluded from statistical analyses |
| 3 | (Gore-Langton and Spear, 2019) | Rats (Adolescent and Adult) | Yes | Unknown | Implied | ANOVA | Sexes assessed independently, appropriate controls included, multiple ethanol concentrations included in self-administration assessment. | Averages for ethanol consumption per group (sex/exposure) are reported in adults, but main effects of sex and interactions between sex by PAE are not stastistically reported; instead, effects of exposure are reported individually in each sex |
| 3 | (Pepino et al., 2004) | Rats (Adolescent) | Yes | Implied, but unknown | Implied | ANOVA | Sexes assessed independently, appropriate controls included | Sexes were assessed independently, but a main effect of sex was not reported. Effects of PAE within each sex differed, but a PAE by sex interaction was not reported |
| 3 | (Streissguth et al., 1996) | Humans (all ages) | Yes | Yes | No | Included sex-stratified estimate of alcohol/drug use prevalence | Report to CDC providing incidence rates of primary and secondary disabilities from individuals with PAE |
1
Studies were ranked on a scale of 1 to 5 based on strength of sex differences assessed. Points were assigned based on:
1)
Were both sexes included? (Yes: 1pt; No/Unknown: 0 pts)
2)
Were sexes directly compared to each other (statistical main effect of sex)? (Yes: 2 pts; No/Unknown: 0 pts)
2a)
If not, were sexes assessed independently? (Yes: 1pt; No/Unknown: 0 pts)
3)
Was a PAE by sex Interaction statistically assessed? (Yes: 2 pts; No/Unknown: 0 pts)
3a)
If not, were PAE effects reported for each sex independently? (Yes: 1pt; No/Unknown: 0 pts)