Table 5.
Referenced brain imaging 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 | (Chen et al., 2012) | Humans (Late Adolescent/Young Adult) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Multivariate ANOVA | A control group (no PAE) was included in statistical analyses to determine differences from two distinct alcohol-exposed group | Females disproportionally represented (73%) in one PAE group |
| 5 | (Nardelli et al., 2011) | Humans (Child and Adolescent) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Univariate and Multivariate ANOVA | Sexes assessed independently, appropriate controls included | |
| 4 | (Uban et al., 2017) | Humans (Child and Adolescent) | Yes | Reported for hormone levels, but not overall imaging metrics | Yes | ANOVA & linear regression models | Sexes assessed independently, appropriate controls included | |
| 1 | (Archibald et al., 2001) | Humans (Adolescent) | Yes | Not assessed | Not assessed | Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U tests | A control group (no PAE) was included in statistical analyses to determine differences from two alcohol-exposed groups: PAE and FAS | Sex was not included in statistical analyses, likely due to modest sample sizes among groups |
| 1 | (Astley et al., 2009) | Humans (Child to Adolescent) | Yes | Not assessed | Not assessed | ANOVA | A control group (no PAE) was included in statistical analyses to determine differences from three distinct alcohol-exposed groups | Sex was not included in statistical analyses, likely due to modest sample sizes among groups |
| 1 | (Cortese et al., 2006) | Humans (Preadolescent2 and adolescent) | Yes | Not assessed | Not assessed | Independent t-tests | A control group (no PAE) was included in statistical analyses to determine differences from alcohol-exposed subjects with or without a diagnosis of FAS | Sex was not included in statistical analyses, likely due to modest sample sizes among groups. |
| 1 | (Lees et al., 2020) | Humans (Preadolescent2) | Yes | Unknown | Implied, but unknown | Sex included as a coviariate in mixed model and mediation analyses | Sex differences excluded from statistical analyses | |
| 1 | (Li et al., 2008) | Humans (Late Adolescent/Young Adult) | Yes | Not assessed | Not assessed | Group t-tests | A control group (no PAE) was included in statistical analyses to determine differences from alcohol-exposed subjects | Sex was not included in statistical analyses, likely due to modest sample sizes among groups |
| 1 | (Sowell et al., 2001) | Humans (Child and Adolescent) | Yes | Not assessed | Not assessed | T-tests | A control group (no PAE) was included in statistical analyses to determine differences from alcohol-exposed subjects | Sex was not included in statistical analyses, likely due to modest sample sizes among groups |
Studies were ranked on a scale of 1 to 5 based on strength of sex differences assessed. Points were assigned based on:
Were both sexes included? (Yes: 1pt; No/Unknown: 0 pts)
Were sexes directly compared to each other (statistical main effect of sex)? (Yes: 2 pts; No/Unknown: 0 pts)
If not, were sexes assessed independently? (Yes: 1pt; No/Unknown: 0 pts)
Was a PAE by sex Interaction statistically assessed? (Yes: 2 pts; No/Unknown: 0 pts)
If not, were PAE effects reported for each sex independently? (Yes: 1pt; No/Unknown: 0 pts)
Preadolescent as the late childhood epoch directly preceding adolescence, including ages 9–11