Table 6.
Referenced CVD and immune function 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 | (Bake et al., 2017) | Mice (Adult) | Yes | Assessed, not statistically significant | Assessed, not statistically significant | Univariate and Multivariate ANOVA | Sex assessed statistically, appropriate controls included, offspring assessed at multiple ages | |
| 5 | (Bake et al., 2021) | Rats (Adult) | Yes | Yes | Yes | ANOVA | Sex assessed statistically, appropriate controls included | |
| 5 | (Bake et al., 2022) | Rats (Adult into Middle Age) | Yes | Yes | Yes | ANOVA | Sex assessed statistically, appropriate controls included | |
| 5 | (Nguyen et al., 2014) | Rats (Adult) | Yes | Yes | Assessed, not statistically significant | ANOVA | Sex assessed statistically, appropriate controls included | |
| 5 | (Walton et al., 2019) | Rats (Middle Age Adult) | Yes | Yes | Yes | ANOVA | Sex assessed statistically, appropriate controls included | |
| 5 | (Weinberg and Jerrells, 1991) | Rats (Adult) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Multivariate ANOVA | Sex assessed statistically, appropriate controls included | |
| 4 | (Saha et al., 2021) | Rats (Adolescent and Adult) | Yes | Assessed, not statistically significant | Assessed, not statistically significant | ANOVA | Sexes assessed independently, appropriate controls included, offspring assessed during adolescence and adulthood | |
| 3 | (Weeks et al., 2020) | Humans and Zebrafish (Adult) | Yes | Unknown | Yes | ANOVA | Sexes assessed independently, appropriate controls included. | |
| 1 | (Ngai et al., 2008) | Sheep (Adult) | Yes | Not assessed | Not assessed | Logistic equation and F test. | Both sexes included in assessments, appropriate controls included | Sex was not included in statistical analyses, likely due to modest sample sizes among groups; males disproportionally represented (80%) in control group |
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)